Discussions on the stimulus plan will continue this weekend in the United States. The Congress granted itself, Friday, December 18, a small respite of two days to prolong the negotiations on the 2021 budget in order to avoid a “shutdown” – a paralysis of the federal administration -, and above all to try to wrest a plan to support the US economy.
Despite the prospect of a government shutdown on Friday at midnight and the expiration on December 26, aid to households, Democrats and Republicans failed this week to put an end to their negotiations on a new aid package crucial for households and businesses hard hit by the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. New sticking points have even appeared since Thursday, casting doubt on the possibility of adopting measures before Sunday.
Democrats and Republicans are under pressure while at the same time they have not found a consensus on the new finance law either. The House of Representatives and the Senate therefore agreed to adopt a resolution to extend the finance law, a resolution signed by Donald Trump in the evening.
Last week, Congress had already granted a week’s respite to adopt the 2021 budget. This was indeed initially due to expire on December 11 at midnight.
New bone of contention
The new deadline comes as Democrats and Republicans still seemed a long way off Friday from sealing an agreement on a proposed $ 900 billion emergency aid plan unveiled more than two weeks ago. This is all the more expected as the measures voted in the spring will expire in eight days.
“We hope that they will reach an agreement in the near future”, reacted the number two Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer. But there is still “Some important outstanding issues”, he admitted. He was referring in particular to the last-minute demand by certain Republicans to include in law a provision restricting the intervention of the Central Bank in the granting of credit to companies and other institutions.
“Managers work twenty-four hours a day”, had underlined Friday morning the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate Mitch McConnell, saying he was more optimistic than the day before on the possibility of removing the last obstacles. A deal is ” very close “, he added, reporting discussions “Productive”. “As I said, the Senate will be here until an agreement is reached when possible”, he added, already hinting that the negotiations could continue throughout the weekend.
Deficit
The country is in desperate need of a new aid plan due to the new wave of cases of Covid-19 infections which have slowed the economic recovery. Many local officials, including those most resistant to containment measures, have taken the decision to close part of the activity, including bars and restaurants, causing unemployment claims to jump in the last two weeks.
Joe Biden has been urging Congress to vote since he was elected ” at once “ a new aid plan. This should include measures for the distribution and logistics of vaccines against the coronavirus as well as additional unemployment benefits of $ 300 per week and direct checks to families of $ 600, or half of the amount granted last March.
In March, the emergency vote on the law “Cares Act” of more than $ 2.2 trillion, supplemented in April by an extension of almost 500 billion for businesses had enabled the world’s largest economy to limit the depth of the recession and to keep millions of people out of the poverty. Economists have been urging for months to vote for new measures.
So far, Democrats and Republicans have failed to overcome their divide. Among the points of persistent disagreement: the amount of the check to be given to households. In a statement, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said Friday night that he wanted a check for $ 1,200. “We have the opportunity to provide direct financial assistance” Americans and make a difference for the poorest households, he argued. “The only objection we have heard is that it will add too much to the deficit” government, he lamented.
