Congress Attempts To Avert Government Shutdown For Now

A bill to give legislators one more week to avert a government shutdown has passed to Donald Trump’s desk as representatives argue over how much money should be sent where in 2021.

If lawmakers don’t figure out an agreement before the deadline, COVID-19 aid and federal protections could disappear during record-setting outbreaks, CNBC reports. Trump has until Saturday to approve the bill and avert an immediate government shutdown.

If it does pass into law, representatives have a steep challenge ahead of them. While the overall amount of $1.4 trillion has been approved by both sides, Republicans and Democrats remain at loggerheads over distribution.

Republicans are adamant that businesses should be given immunity from COVID-19-related lawsuits, a provision that faces strenuous objections from their opponents.

Democrats and a number of Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing for more COVID-19 aid for individual citizens and an increase in funding to unemployment programs.

An offer from the White House to give $600 aid checks and no new unemployment funding failed to gain traction. It’s been months since the first and only round of $1,200 checks went out. Democrats said they were willing to go without direct payments in exchange for a $300 per week increase in unemployment benefits.

Unless they receive funding, unemployment benefits will vanish the day after Christmas. Federal moratoriums against evictions and provisions for family leave expire at the end of December as well.

A bill to fund the military passed with a veto-proof majority despite threats from Trump that he would veto it unless provisions were added revoking protections for social media companies that labeled his disinformation.