KEY POINTS

  • Sen. Pat Toomey has thrown a wrench into budget talks by demanding the Fed's lending power be curtailed
  • Other obstacles include cries from progressives and populists that $600 checks aren't close to enough to help struggling Americans
  • If a budget isn't passed by midnight Friday, the government would shut down

With less than 24 hours to avert a government shutdown, lawmakers muddling through a process already beset by roadblocks are only finding more challenges. The latest comes in a demand from Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would curtail the ability of the Federal Reserve to prop up the economy.

Democrats characterize it as an attempt to sabotage the economy for an incoming Biden administration, but Toomey says his language would only stop the Fed from using emergency COVID-19 lending measures rather than curtail its broader ability to lend.

In a call with reporters, Toomey said his position was the “consensus” of Senate Republicans. Democrats called it a poison pill.

"We were in a very, very dangerous moment with respect to financial markets,” Toomey said, NBC reports. “These programs were stood up to revive these private markets and they were remarkably successful in that purpose, [but should] cease operations no later than the end of 2020.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers will stay in Washington until they have passed a new pandemic relief package
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers will stay in Washington until they have passed a new pandemic relief package POOL / Greg Nash

Lawmakers have been making halting progress toward a spending and COVID-19 relief bill after granting themselves an emergency 7-day extension that expires Friday at midnight.

The narrow timeline makes the bill vulnerable to demands from individual Senators, as unanimous consent is required to schedule a vote on such short notice.

Other pressure has come from progressives and populists like Bernie Sanders, Josh Hawley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who say $600 per person isn’t even close to sufficient aid.

Hawley and Sanders threatened to block the 7-day extension unless the Senate passed $1,200 relief checks, and Hawley planned to force a vote on that Friday ahead of budget finalization. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) blocked the bill.

The current proposal would give $600 checks to those in need, a $300 weekly unemployment boost and $325 billion to small businesses.

That’s less than Democrats had originally hoped, as Republicans are suddenly very concerned about the budget again. Republicans in turn have dropped a measure protecting businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits from the proposal.

Legislators will be working through the weekend regardless to close out the congressional session. A short shutdown through the weekend or early next week would be largely symbolic, but anything more would start to prompt furloughs and shut down government services.

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