Mitch McConnell’s Request to Approve New Stimulus Package Before Monday | The State

Photo:
Michael Reynolds / EFE

For a new stimulus package to be approved before Monday after the additional deadline until Sunday that leaders of the US Congress provisionally agreed, the parties must come to a successful conclusion this Saturday.

However, the above is not assured, judging by the most recent reports from media such as CNN and The Hill.

Discussion could extend into next week

Senate Majority Whip, John Thune, warned that efforts to reach a final agreement could be extended until Monday, despite the fact that the deadline approved by congressmen to keep the government open for two additional days expires tomorrow.

“I am still somewhat hopeful that we can mount this if the House moves fast, we have it, and we do it tomorrow night, but I would say that it is also very possible that it will move to Monday,” the Republican told CNN.

According to the report from the television network, the goal of the legislators is to reach an agreement sometime this Saturday so that the House Rules Committee can meet on Sunday morning and have the legislation ready to go to a vote in the plenary session between Sunday afternoon and evening. The endorsement of the 100 senators is needed to schedule the vote for Sunday.

Senate Majority Speaker Mitch McConnell, also anticipated the possibility of the discussion extending beyond Sunday.

“Cooperation” and “focus,” asks McConnell

“We need cooperation and focus from all parties. There is a kind of gravitational pull here in Congress where, unless we are careful, any major negotiation can easily slip into an endless catalog of disagreements. Let’s not lower our guard against that, ”McConnell said in a statement from the Senate floor today quoted by The Hill.

In McConnell’s view, the most recent conversations with his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, have passed in a “spirit of good faith.”

The highest-ranking Republican in the Senate added: “Americans don’t feed their families or pay their bills with bona fide discussions in Congress. They need us to act. We need to conclude the talks, present a draft of legislation and land this plane. “

Conciliatory position from today to tomorrow

Paradoxically, McConnell is one of the Republicans who showed the most resistance in the past few months to pass a stimulus package of more than $ 500,000 million with stimulus checks.

However, he changed his position in recent days to close ranks after the bipartisan project that is being evaluated in Congress, valued at about $ 900,000 million dollars, which includes minimum direct payments of $ 600 dollars, an extension of $ 300 per week for unemployment and money for distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, among other provisions.

The challenge of reaching a final agreement in the remainder of the day is even more complicated given the short period of time available as a result of the provisional extension to the spending law until tomorrow.