MCCONNELL: ‘HIGHLY LIKELY’ CONGRESS WILL WORK THROUGH THE WEEKEND ON RELIEF PACKAGE

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Mitch McConnell said Thursday it's "highly likely" Congress will keep working through the weekend to finalize the details of emergency coronavirus relief, raising the prospect that lawmakers again pass a stopgap measure to fund the government and briefly extend the Friday deadline.

[ SEE: The Latest News on the Coronavirus Outbreak ]
Congress is scrambling to piece together a bipartisan deal on nearly $900 billion in coronavirus aid and an omnibus spending package to fund federal agencies before government funding lapses Friday at midnight. But without the text of the bills and no planned votes, members are increasingly likely to pass another short-term measure to push back the deadline a few days to avert a shutdown and press forward with their work.

"We're going to stay right here until we are finished, even if that means working through the weekend, which is highly likely," McConnell said Thursday morning. "And if we need to further extend the Friday funding deadline before final legislation can pass in both chambers, I hope we will extend it for a very, very short window of time."

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"It's the point where each side faces a fork in the road. Do we want to lapse into politics as usual and let negotiations lose steam?" the Kentucky Republican added. "Or on the other hand, after months of inaction, do we want to move swiftly and with unusual bipartisanship to close out our issues, seal the deal and write text that can quickly pass into law?"

Congress has yet to definitively commit to passing a second continuing resolution in less than a week to allow for further negotiations over the weekend. But some, like Senate Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, indicated to reporters at the Capitol that a stopgap measure "wouldn't be more than 24 to 48 hours."

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With the exception of a few outstanding issues, the top four leaders are on the brink of securing a COVID-19 relief deal that is expected to include, among other things, a second round of stimulus checks, restored unemployment benefits and more aid for small businesses. But direct payments will likely be a smaller amount than the initial $1,200 ones passed in the spring, shrinking the number to either $600 or $700 per individual. A federal unemployment supplement will also be cut in half, with unemployed workers receiving $300 a week on top of state assistance.

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Negotiators are also prepared to drop the two more contentious provisions that have roiled negotiations for months and put off those issues until next year: Democrats' push for state, local and tribal aid and the GOP's effort to secure liability protections from virus-related lawsuits.

All congressional leaders have expressed optimism about clinching an agreement in the near future but have remained mum on whether one will be reached by Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York also said Thursday that they're closing in on a compromise and that a "few final issues must be hammered out."

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Lawmakers on Thursday lamented over the recent reliance on short-term measures to fund the government and bypass a normal appropriations process. But all recognize the consequences of falling into a government shutdown during a pandemic, even a brief one.

[ MAP: The Spread of Coronavirus ]

"We need to pass our annual appropriations bills and to keep the government running," Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said Thursday. "I cannot imagine the unforgivable and embarrassing tragedy it would be if the government is shut down for our failure to reach a decision."

Lisa Hagen, Reporter

Lisa Hagen is a politics reporter for U.S. News & World Report covering Congress, the 2020 ... READ MORE

Tags: Mitch McConnell, Congress, coronavirus, pandemic, economic stimulus, Senate, Republican Party, United States