WASHINGTON, Dec 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – US lawmakers agreed on pandemic
spending powers for the Federal Reserve late Saturday, the Wall Street
Journal reported, clearing the way for a vote on a roughly $900 billion
Covid-19 relief package for millions of Americans.
The deal would maintain the central bank’s ability to set up emergency
lending programs without congressional approval, the Journal said, but the
Fed would require approval to restart similar existing programs once they
expire later this year.
Republicans had sought to limit the Fed’s ability to provide credit for
businesses and other institutions, while Democrats argued restricting its
powers could compound the fiscal crisis in the world’s largest economy.
The impasse had threatened to temporarily shut down the government — a
scenario not unheard of in politically divided Washington, but disastrous
given the worsening economy and record daily death tolls from Covid-19.
According to the Journal, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said the
House and Senate could vote on the deal on Sunday.
Lawmakers could “begin closing out the rest of the package to deliver
much-needed relief to families, workers, and businesses,” a spokesman for
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told the newspaper.
Before the deal was reported, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Why isn’t
Congress giving our people a Stimulus Bill?
“GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments.”
A bill to aid struggling businesses and the unemployed is seen as critical
to getting the US economy back on its feet, even as new vaccines offer hope
that an end to the pandemic may be in sight.
The package is expected to include aid for vaccine distribution and
logistics, extra jobless benefits of $300 per week, and a new round of $600
stimulus checks — half the amount provided in checks distributed last March.
On the brink of a shutdown, the House of Representatives voted 320 to 60
late Friday to extend funding for federal agencies through Sunday to allow
negotiators to thrash out a deal.