Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated on Tuesday that Congress would work through the holidays to pass a COVID-19 pandemic relief package.
Congress Will Not Break For Holidays
According to McConnell in a press briefing on Tuesday wherein congressional leaders were heading into a meeting with the aim of coming into agreement on a new round of pandemic aid for Americans, "I assure you, we're not leaving until we finish this package," reported The Epoch Times.
Republican and Democratic congressional leaders expressed aspiration on Tuesday regarding reaching an agreement on a new round of novel coronavirus aid that has evaded United States lawmakers for months.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy remarked after two rounds of talks that he believes they are moving in the right direction with the possibility of getting it done, reported VOA.
According to top congressional leaders, they were near to reaching an agreement on a second coronavirus relief package, reporting progress after months of intermittent efforts to approve more aid, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) met multiple times on Tuesday, the team's first meeting in weeks.
The house speaker's two rounds of meetings with bipartisan congressional leaders had a development towards a deal on coronavirus relief and funding the government into 2021, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
McConnell stated on Tuesday he is "optimistic" they are going to be able to come to an understanding soon after a late-night negotiating session with Pelosi, McCarthy, and Schumer.
The congressional leaders reached an agreement to provide a new portion of COVID-19 relief on Tuesday, driving a hard bargain deep into the night over how to spend hundreds of billions of dollars before concluding 2020.
Top lawmakers pledged they would not go home for the year until they pass the COVID-19 relief deal. This is the most striking signal yet that Pelosi, McConnell, McCarthy, and Schumer are on the verge of breaking the long-running stimulus stalemate.
According to McConnell, he supports waiting until 2021 to tackle the most disputed issues to reach a negotiation.
Lawmakers are making efforts to bring about an agreement by Friday when Congress reaches the deadline to pass legislation to sustain government funding.
However, congressional leaders were still unable to reach a deal on Tuesday on the amount of economic relief to allocate for affected workers, state governments, and businesses by the pandemic even as an extended deadline for a federal government shutdown hastily approached.
McCarthy also believes there is development as he left the meeting with the four most senior lawmakers in Congress.
One major element that appears to be missing in the new package is the second round of stimulus checks.
In the new $908billion relief proposal, the $1,200 checks will not be included despite workers and families devastated by the pandemic and are in dire need of emergency aid.
Related Article : Republican, Democrat Voters Want Second Stimulus Deal Before 2020 Ends
