Author: Andrew Taylor
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Snags on COVID-19 relief may force weekend sessions
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WASHINGTON • It’s a hurry up and wait moment on Capitol Hill as congressional negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package struggled through a handful of remaining snags on Thursday. The holdups mean a weekend session now appears virtually certain, along with a stopgap spending bill to avert a partial government…
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Negotiators near agreement on COVID-19 economic aid bill
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WASHINGTON • Congressional negotiators closed in Wednesday on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would deliver additional help to businesses, $300 per week jobless checks, and $600 stimulus payments to most Americans. But there was no deal quite yet. The long-delayed measure was coming together as Capitol Hill combatants finally fashioned difficult compromises,…
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Talks escalate on new COVID-19 relief, top lawmakers to meet
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WASHINGTON • Talks on a long-delayed COVID-19 aid package intensified Tuesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi summoned other top congressional leaders for a potentially critical meeting. Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for more than an hour, her office tweeted, and Mnuchin will join the make-or-break meeting of Capitol Hill’s “big four” leaders…
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Lawmakers act to avert shutdown, buying time for COVID talks
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WASHINGTON • Still spinning their wheels on COVID-19 relief, lawmakers grabbed a one-week government funding extension Wednesday that buys time for more talks — though there is considerable disagreement over who is supposed to be taking the lead from there. Amid the uncertainty, the House easily passed a one-week government-wide funding bill that sets a…
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New White House offer adds $600 checks to COVID-19 relief
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WASHINGTON • The Trump administration dove back into Capitol Hill’s confusing COVID-19 negotiations on Tuesday, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the offer to Pelosi late Tuesday afternoon, he said in a statement. He offered few…
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Biden, top Democrats swing behind bipartisan virus aid bill
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WASHINGTON • President-elect Joe Biden swung behind a bipartisan COVID-19 relief effort Wednesday, and his top Capitol Hill allies cut their demands for a $2 trillion-plus measure by more than half in hopes of breaking a monthslong logjam and delivering much-sought aid as the tempestuous congressional session speeds to a close. Biden said the developing…
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Senate GOP leader says he’s revising his COVID relief plan
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WASHINGTON • Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he’s revising his scaled-back COVID-19 relief bill with the goal of passing a significant downpayment during the lame-duck session and then revisiting the topic next year. The Kentucky Republican made the announcement after President-elect Joe Biden called upon lawmakers to follow a similar path. House…
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McConnell slates October revote on GOP COVID relief plan
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WASHINGTON • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he’s scheduling a procedural vote on a GOP COVID-19 relief bill next week, saying aid to hard-hit businesses shouldn’t be held up by gridlock involving other aid proposals. The Kentucky Republican says the first item of Senate business when the chamber returns next Monday will…
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Trump halts COVID-19 relief talks until after election
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WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump on Tuesday called an abrupt end to negotiations with Democrats over additional COVID-19 relief, delaying action until after the election despite ominous warnings from his own Federal Reserve chairman about the deteriorating conditions in the economy. Trump tweeted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was “not negotiating in good faith” and…
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Deal for COVID-19 relief bill still ways apart, but talks continue
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WASHINGTON • Democrats controlling the House narrowly passed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Thursday night, a move that came as top-level talks on a smaller, potentially bipartisan measure dragged on toward an uncertain finish. An air of pessimism has largely taken over the Capitol. The Democratic bill passed after a partisan debate by a…