Top congressional leaders to meet on COVID stimulus, spending

Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate are set to meet Tuesday afternoon on COVID-19 relief and government funding as Congress faces a Friday shutdown deadline.

The leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are racing to resolve differences in a massive package to fund the government through next October and to close a deal on relief for Americans grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. 

A breakthrough could be near on stimulus. After months of impasse, a bipartisan group of lawmakers rolled out the latest iteration of their stimulus proposal Monday afternoon, breaking apart a $908 billion proposal into two bills. One bill contains $748 billion of programs with broader support like small business loan forgiveness and unemployment insurance. Having failed to reach consensus among themselves on all the issues, the lawmakers shifted thornier programs like aid for state and local governments and liability protections for companies into a

smaller $160 billion bill.Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, one of the senators who brought together the compromise proposal, told reporters Monday it was possible the $160 billion portion could be jettisoned altogether from this bill and resolved in January when Congress took up new COVID-19 relief legislation. If senators wanted to include stimulus checks in the legislation, he said, congressional leaders could put the $160 billion towards the payments.Lawmakers have until Friday to reach a deal on stimulus if they want to include it in the government funding package, likely one of the last bills to pass Congress this year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recognized former Vice President Joe Biden as the president-elect during a 10-minute-long speech on the Senate floor Tuesday.

“The Electoral College has spoken,” McConnell said, saying he wanted to “congratulate the President-elect Joe Biden” and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Noting Harris’ historic win as the first female vice president, McConnell said, “beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president for the very first time.”

Following Monday’s Electoral College vote, Republican lawmakers have slowly started to accept Biden as president-elect, though some lawmakers said they wanted to wait for Congress to certify the Electoral College results on Jan. 6.

Hundreds of advocates plan to rally Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, to encourage President-elect Joe Biden to take action during his first 100 days in office that would benefit immigrants, overhaul the criminal-justice system and assist Puerto Rico.

Participants are traveling from seven states and Washington, D.C., for the 1 p.m. EST rally and news conference in Rodney Square, according to organizers from groups including Make the Road Action, CASA in Action, the Center for Popular Democratic Action and FIRM Action.

The rally coincides with Biden traveling to Georgia to campaign for Democrats in two Senate runoff elections. Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are defending their seats against Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively, with control of the Senate at stake.

Biden’s plans for immigration include restoring protections for young people who arrived with their undocumented parents, removing Trump administration restrictions on asylum and a 100-day moratorium on deportations.

His plans for the criminal-justice system aim to reduce incarceration and eliminate racial disparities in the system. Biden has called for debt relief for Puerto Rico and an audit of the territory’s finances.

Biden has also been naming a diverse group of senior advisers to deal with those issues.

But advocates will press for broader action, based on Biden winning the White House with significant support from Black and Latino vo.

The groups seek a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants nationwide, a goal that has proven too contentious and elusive for Congress to resolve for decades. The groups urge criminal-justice reforms to reduce incarceration and invest in communities. And the groups advocate canceling Puerto Rico’s debt.

After his Electoral College victory Monday, Biden heads to Georgia Tuesday to campaign for Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who are challenging the state’s Republican senators in a runoff election.

Biden is returning to Georgia on its second day of early voting. Biden won the traditionally red state this year, making him the first Democratic presidential candidate to capture the state since 1992.  

The Jan. 5 runoff election in Georgia will determine the control of the Senate. Democrats could gain control of both chambers of Congress if Ossoff and Warnock win their elections against Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

The president as well as Vice President Mike Pence also traveled to Georgia last week, both campaigning for the incumbent senators.

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