“We’re getting very close, very close,” Schumer said as he left the Capitol, predicting that the House and Senate would vote on Sunday to approve the package – just hours before the government runs out of money at midnight.
The office of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell also said a deal was in sight.
The exact details of the agreement have yet to be seen. And congressional leaders await hurdles as they push for speedy passage of the $ 900 billion emergency relief deal, which is expected to include $ 300 a week in unemployment benefits, $ 600 direct payments for individuals, $ 330 billion for small business loans, more over $ 80 billion for schools and billions for vaccine distribution.
Lawmakers have not yet seen details of the contingency plan – nor have they seen the bill of the massive $ 1.4 trillion spending package that Congress must pass to keep the government open last Sunday. Any senator can postpone a vote for days if unhappy with the process or policy. In addition, it is uncertain how President Donald Trump will respond, as he is no longer involved in the talks and consumed by his election loss.
Still, the late agreement on the disputed provision likely paves the way for a hectic Sunday where the leaders of the four caucuses will inform their members, try to schedule quick ballots, and get the bill passed through Congress in a matter of hours – a process that is almost unheard of. of for an account of this size and scope.
With Americans seeking relief, impatience is growing in the ranks as both sides recognize that a deal must be reached on Sunday or the talks could fail completely.
Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said an agreement would be reached on a compromise on Sunday, or that one party would have to make a “tough decision” on how to proceed.
“This can’t go on,” Coons said.
Republicans argue that the Fed’s emergency credit program, created under the March CARES Act, should be wound down as envisaged by that law, saying that leaving it open amounts to a slush fund for the incoming Biden government.
But Democrats argue that the authority is essential to continuing to support the economy, saying that the provision to wind it down – mainly under pressure from Toomey – would tie the hands of President-elect Joe Biden’s team.
After sitting back and forth with Leader Schumer all day, Senator Toomey has agreed to scrap the broad language in his proposal, which would prevent the Fed Chairman from setting up facilities comparable to those that are in the future. were established in March, “said a senior Democratic assistant. “The compromise language is being finalized and now that this obstacle has been removed, a final agreement on an emergency response package is significantly closer.”
But the Republicans also declared victory.
“This agreement scraps more than $ 429 billion in unused CARES Act funds; permanently ends CARES Act loan facilities by December 31, 2020; prevents these facilities from being rebooted and prohibits them from being duplicated without Congressional approval” , Toomey spokesman Steve Kelly said. in a statement. “This agreement will maintain the independence of the Fed and prevent Democrats from hijacking these programs for political and social policy purposes.”
“Now that the Democrats have agreed to a version of Senator Toomey’s key language, we can begin to close the rest of the package to provide much-needed help to families, workers and businesses,” said Doug Andres, a spokesman for McConnell.
A long day full of conversations
Schumer had been in talks with Toomey all Saturday, and other Democrats joined the talks as well.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, had a private meeting with Toomey and the two discussed how to reverse Toomey’s proposal. The discussions sparked further exchanges with McConnell and other top Republicans to see if they could make a deal.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, left the Senate floor on Saturday, saying he thinks they will be able to strike a deal.
“I think they will fix it,” Cassidy said with a “closer focus.”
Schumer indicated during a call with Senate Democrats that if an agreement is reached, there could be a vote in the senate on Sunday evening or Monday – but that would require the consent of all 100 senators for that vote to take place.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune warned on Saturday that the effort to finalize a deal could spill over to Monday.
“I’m still somewhat hopeful that we can get this done if Parliament moves quickly and we have it, record it and do it tomorrow night, but I would say it is also entirely possible that it rolls over to Monday,” he said.
However, the two sides seemed to be in trouble all day long.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had told GOP senators during a conference call that they still had not found a solution to the struggle to reverse the Federal Reserve’s emergency credit programs, a source said on the call.
The Democrats publicly and privately agreed.
“We had a big problem, one last, tiny case with Mr. Toomey. And that must be resolved. And then everything falls into place. But that’s the most important thing, ”said speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Asked for an update on the talks earlier in the day, the Senate minority whip DIck Durbin replied simply, “Toomey, Toomey, Toomey.”
The proposal, said Schumer, “is not about Covid or helping the American people. It’s about tying the hands of the next Secretary of the Treasury and the next Fed chairman in a real emergency.”
But both sides recognized that a deal had to be reached.
McConnell warned, “There is a kind of gravity here in Congress where, unless we’re careful, any major negotiation can easily slip into an endless catalog of disagreements.”
During a conference call with GOP senators, the Kentucky Republican noted that a dozen GOP senators had left town, although a number of votes had been drawn on Saturday to approve nominations, according to two well-known sources. McConnell thanked those who stayed in town.
The absent senators should return if there is a vote on an aid package on Sunday, but if there is a turnout problem, a vote could potentially be postponed until Monday.
The clock is ticking
Hill leaders face mounting pressure to seal a deal as lawmakers remain in Washington this weekend and now face a new fast-approaching deadline after a government shutdown was narrowly averted Friday night when the House and Senate a two-day extension of government funding.
The leadership plans to negotiate a stimulus deal in addition to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding package for another fiscal year, linking the two issues.
There are a range of other open policy disputes that have led to last-minute delays that can be bridged according to lawmakers. One of these concerns education funding.
Currently, the emerging deal has more than $ 80 billion for schools and education providers. Republicans are pushing for $ 5 billion of that to go to private schools. Democrats are trying to cut that down to $ 2.5 billion.
As the clock is ticking, constituencies are increasingly frustrated with the process, after leaders have indicated for days in a row that a deal is imminent, and with how little information has been publicly released on the details of such an important bill they expect to vote soon.
House majority leader Steny Hoyer announced on Friday that the next House vote would not take place before 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, meaning lawmakers will be backed by a deadline for government funding.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.