Minority leader in the Senate Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer Ocasio-Cortez: I’m ‘not ready’ to be a speaker, but Pelosi and Schumer should go With the Senate on the line, Georgia is in our minds Democrats see stimulus checks as winning issue in Georgia’s run-offs (DN.Y.) and Sen. Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph Toomey Government Used Patriot Act to Collect Website Visitor Logs in 2019 Appeals Court Rules NSA’s Bulk Phone Data Collection Illegal Dunford Withdraws From Consideration To Chair Coronavirus Monitoring Panel MORE (R-Pa.) Reached an agreement on language late Saturday night to curtail the Federal Reserve’s special lending authorities, paving the way for a coronavirus deal and an omnibus spending package as early as Sunday.
At around 9 p.m., the Republicans sent notice to Schumer that they would accept language to resolve the dispute over the Federal Reserve’s credit facilities, GOP aides said.
The compromise will wipe out the $ 429 billion in unspent CARES Act funding for the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities and reuse it as compensation for a new $ 900 billion coronavirus bill, GOP sources said.
The deal closes four Federal Reserve credit facilities created by the CARES law and will prevent the Fed from setting up replica facilities in the future without congressional approval.
Those four programs are the corporate credit facility in the primary market, the corporate credit facility in the secondary market, the Main Street credit program and the municipal credit facility.
The Fed will retain more flexibility in rebooting the Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), which will close but may be restarted in the future.
Toomey agreed to a more limited approach to dealing with potential “copycat” loans. Negotiators agreed to a specific language rather than just an agreement in principle.
A senior Democratic aide said Toomey “has agreed to remove the broad language in his proposal that would have prevented the Fed chairman from setting up facilities similar to those created in March in the future.”
“Compromise language is being finalized and now that this obstacle has been removed, a final agreement on an emergency aid package is significantly closer,” said the Democratic assistant.
A Democratic source familiar with the talks said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had already said he would return the $ 429 billion in unspent CARES money to the general fund.
Toomey, however, questioned that claim on Thursday.
“I’m not sure the secretary has committed to putting this in a general fund category,” he told reporters earlier this week. “I’m not sure I interpret his comments the way you do. And there’s also the fact that there are other funds in the [Exchange Stabilization Fund] account. In any case, having the language we are talking in will rule out the possibility of restarting these programs from any source. “
Another senior House Democratic aide said the Toomey deal is the stage for smoothing out all the other minor differences that had stalled negotiations for weeks.
“We expect the remaining open items to fall into place overnight,” said the assistant.
Schumer emerged from office late Saturday night and predicted that both the House and Senate will vote on the package on Sunday – a combination of a $ 900 billion coronavirus control bill and a $ 1.4 trillion omnibus bill.
The package will include direct incentive checks of between $ 600 and $ 700, according to a commitment GOP leaders to Sen. Josh Hawley
Joshua (Josh) David Hawley Trump signs bill to keep government open amid emergency talks. Federal Reserve Fights Emergency Talks Overnight Health Care: CFS, Walgreens to Begin Vaccinations for Nursing Homes | Pence receives coronavirus vaccine on camera | 8.2 million people sign up for ObamaCare MORE (R-Mo.) On Friday. Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders Trump Signs Bill To Keep Government Open Amid Emergency Relief Talks On The Money: Congress Enters Bill To Prevent Closure As Coronavirus Talks Enter Weekend | Federal Reserve Fights Emergency Relief Talks Congress Passes Bill To Avert Closure As Coronavirus Talks Enter Weekend MORE (I-Vt.) Collaborated with Hawley to include the stimulus controls.
Sunday’s vote would prevent Congress from having to approve a new short-term funding extension to avoid a government shutdown.
“If things continue on this road and nothing gets in the way, we can vote tomorrow,” Schumer said. “House and Senate.”
President Trump
Donald Trump Trump Signs Bill To Keep Government Open Amid US Emergency Talks To Shut Down Two Russian Consulates ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Social Media Trends Following New Space Force Name MORE just as Toomey and Schumer reached their deal, paving the way for a swift passage of the coronavirus aid package.
“Why isn’t Congress giving our people a stimulus bill? It wasn’t their fault, it was China’s fault. GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments,” Trump tweeted.
Saturday’s negotiations limit more than seven months of fruitless talks between Democrats, the White House and Senate Republicans about the size and scope of a new coronavirus bill.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi Overnight Health Care: CFS, Walgreens to Begin Nursing Home Vaccinations | Pence receives coronavirus vaccine on camera | 8.2 million people sign up for ObamaCare McCarthy, Pelosi receives FBI briefing on Swalwell Trump stays off camera while vaccine is distributed MORE (D-Calif.) And House Democrats proposed the $ 3.4 Trillion Heroes Act in May and then changed their request to $ 2.2. trillion bill in September.
The White House and Senate Republicans responded with the $ 1.1 trillion HEALS Act they introduced in late July. The White House raised its bid to $ 1.8 trillion before the election, but Democrats dismissed it as insufficient.
A Toomey spokesperson called the deal “an unconditional victory for the taxpayer.”
This agreement cancels more than $ 429 billion in unused CARES Act funds; definitively terminates the credit facilities of the CARES law as of December 31, 2020; prevents these facilities from being restarted; and prohibits duplication without congressional approval, ”said Steve Kelly, Toomey’s communications director.
“This agreement will maintain the independence of the Fed and prevent Democrats from hijacking these programs for political and social policy purposes,” he added.
The compromise came after the parties went back and forth all day on Saturday.
The dispute over the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities, instituted in March by the CARES law, remained the latest outstanding sticking point in talks to pass a new coronavirus bill before Christmas.
Republicans said they always intended the special loan authorities to expire by the end of this year. They feared that the new Biden administration could interpret the CARES law in a way to extend the Special Lending Authority and possibly use it to fund their priorities.
For example, the GOP was concerned that next year progressives could use the authority of Section 13 (3) of the Federal Reserve Act to achieve their goals of tackling climate change or cushioning state and local budget deficits.
The deal clarifies uncertainty as to whether the loan facilities will be terminated on December 31.
The compromise between the senators comes in the House of Representatives to vote as soon as possible on Sunday on a combination of a coronavirus aid package and an omnibus spending bill.
The Senate would vote later Sunday before government funding expires at midnight, but the Senate leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell On The Money: Congress Passes Bill to Avert Closure As Coronavirus Talks Enter Weekend | Federal Reserve Fights Emergency Relief Talks Congress Pass Bill To Avert Closure As Talks On Coronavirus Enter Over Weekend Nighttime Health Care: CFS, Walgreens Start Nursing Home Vaccinations | Pence receives coronavirus vaccine on camera | 8.2 million people sign up for ObamaCare MORE (R-Ky.) Must get permission from all 99 colleagues to dispense with procedural hurdles.
The legislation is also expected to include a package of extensions to expiring tax provisions.
It remains to be seen whether the energy legislation advocated by Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski Former Teachers’ Union Leader Seen As Lead Candidate For Biden’s Education Secretary No, Biden hasn’t won yet – another nightmare scenario Government spending bill to include dual energy provisions MORE (R-Alaska), over which there is a two-pronged deal, is rolled up into the larger deal.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations Richard Shelby
Richard Craig ShelbyCongress passes the closing deadline amid coronavirus talks. Government funding, COVID-19 relief hits last-minute snags | Top veteran groups are asking for Wilkie’s resignation MORE (R-Ala.) Said Saturday afternoon he didn’t know it was being recorded at the time.
Updated 1:07 am