#Congress close to deal on stimulus, business loans, unemployment

After about eight months of gridlock, Democrats and Republicans in Congress are nearing a deal on more COVID-19 stimulus checks, small-business loans and unemployment insurance aid.

The final details of the relief package are being haggled over ahead of a government funding deadline at midnight Friday, but negotiators have shared the broad outlines with reporters.

The deal is expected to include direct checks of either $600 or $700 for most Americans, a $300 weekly unemployment supplement and a large amount of forgivable small-business loans.

But the package is expected to exclude two elements that caused the long-running impasse.

The business liability protections sought by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) didn’t make the cut, nor did Democrats’ demand for massive state and local aid, which Republicans viewed as a way to bail out long-indebted Democratic governments.

The precise amount of the likely stimulus checks is unknown. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) told reporters Wednesday that checks would run up to either $600 or $700 — rather than the more generous $1,200 round in March.

The checks likely would be means tested, as in March, with individuals who earn higher wages getting less money and people earning more than $95,000 getting nothing.

Negotiations could drag on through Friday. During prior rounds of relief talks in March, apparent deals often came unglued due to last-minute fights over seemingly minor details.

Among the late-breaking disagreements is the amount of federal disaster relief funds authorized, which Politico reports are viewed by some Republicans as backdoor state and local aid.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke on the phone late into the night Wednesday.

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill tweeted that Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mnuchin spoke around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and “emphasized the urgency to reaching an immediate agreement and will exchange additional paper and resume conversations in the morning.”

Congress last week approved a one-week government funding deal to extend negotiations.

The most recent significant COVID-19 stimulus bill passed in April authorizing an expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, which converts loans into grants if certain conditions are met. In May, Congress voted to relax the program’s rules. President Trump signed that law in June.

A large deal has long been elusive. In an opening bid, House Democrats in May passed a doomed $3 trillion bill, including almost $1 trillion in state and local aid.

Pressure for compromise was alleviated in August when Trump signed a series of executive orders protecting people from eviction, temporarily creating a $300 weekly unemployment supplement and stalling student loan payments.

The pre-Christmas push for relief comes as officials again order businesses to close due to rising infections. Recent news coverage has focused on long food lines and pleas from restaurant owners who say they’re at risk of permanently closing. An estimated 12 million people face loss of unemployment benefits Dec. 26 without legislation.

The stimulus deal is expected to include food assistance and funds to support vaccinations, which began this week following approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Funds for beleaguered regional transit systems and a variety of other initiatives are likely.