Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 02:23 AM Dec 2020

Republican, Democrats reach compromise over Covid-19 stimulus package

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — Senior lawmakers reached a compromise over the Federal Reserve's emergency lending powers late Saturday night, overcoming a major hurdle that prevented Congress from completing a $900 billion coronavirus relief package earlier in the week, according to multiple sources.

A last-minute roadblock emerged on Friday as Democrats accused Republicans, namely Pennsylvania's Sen. Pat Toomey, of attempting to encumber the incoming Biden administration by cutting off the Federal Reserve's emergency lending abilities created by the CARES Act meant to protect the already battered economy.

“Now that Democrats have agreed to a version of Sen. Toomey’s important language, we can begin closing out the rest of the package to deliver much-needed relief to families, workers, and businesses,” a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told NBC News.

Compromise language is being finalized and any open items are expected to be worked out overnight, according to two aides.



Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-democrats-reach-compromise-over-covid-19-stimulus-package-n1251837

20 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Republican, Democrats reach compromise over Covid-19 stimulus package (Original Post) SunSeeker Dec 2020 OP
and of course we got played again. drray23 Dec 2020 #1
FUCK TomDaisy Dec 2020 #2
HuffPo reads it as Toomey caving. SunSeeker Dec 2020 #6
Played? DownriverDem Dec 2020 #16
More from the Washington Post srose58089 Dec 2020 #3
if mcconnel retain control what we gained in exchange of that "compromise" drray23 Dec 2020 #4
bs - the compromise is being spun by the gop harder than the dems.... getagrip_already Dec 2020 #15
Awesome! Polybius Dec 2020 #5
I half expect to learn that the Rs demanded that no relief be paid out until January stopbush Dec 2020 #7
America is screwed. James48 Dec 2020 #8
What do you mean, "let them"? betsuni Dec 2020 #9
I don't think it really matters all that much ouija Dec 2020 #10
I agree. Raven123 Dec 2020 #11
oh great, another better than nothing bill, lets see, wall street gets another big, wet kiss & the yaesu Dec 2020 #12
It is better than nothing. Turin_C3PO Dec 2020 #18
The Fed's emergency lending powers have to be kept, DeminPennswoods Dec 2020 #13
So Toomey got $1200 and we didn't? bucolic_frolic Dec 2020 #14
Toomey caved. No, we didn't get everything we wanted, but we got much of it - and Toomey's Nitram Dec 2020 #17
That's How I Read It, Tool ProfessorGAC Dec 2020 #19
That's how HuffPo sees it too: SunSeeker Dec 2020 #20

drray23

(7,587 posts)
1. and of course we got played again.
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 02:31 AM
Dec 2020

“This agreement rescinds more than $429 billion in unused CARES Act funds; definitively ends the CARES Act lending facilities by Dec. 31, 2020, stops these facilities from being restarted, and forbids them from being duplicated without congressional approval


Basically, the agreement will spell doom for many small businesses and allow republicans to crash the economy.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
6. HuffPo reads it as Toomey caving.
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 02:59 AM
Dec 2020
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) finally agreed to drop the broad language in his proposal that would have strictly curbed Federal Reserve emergency powers to launch emergency lending facilities. The Fed used those powers in March to provide loans to small and mid-sized businesses and buy state and local government bonds to aid the economy. The compromise would give the central bank more flexibility to respond to economic calamities.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5fded619c5b60f828856e7e2

srose58089

(214 posts)
3. More from the Washington Post
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 02:32 AM
Dec 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/19/stimulus-talks-race-against-government-shutddown-deadline/?wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert&pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJjb29raWVuYW1lIjoid3BfY3J0aWQiLCJpc3MiOiJDYXJ0YSIsImNvb2tpZXZhbHVlIjoiNWUzZjc0OGY5YmJjMGY2MzI2Zjc1ODBlIiwidGFnIjoid3BfbmV3c19hbGVydF9yZXZlcmUiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vdXMtcG9saWN5LzIwMjAvMTIvMTkvc3RpbXVsdXMtdGFsa3MtcmFjZS1hZ2FpbnN0LWdvdmVybm1lbnQtc2h1dGRkb3duLWRlYWRsaW5lLz93cG1rPTEmd3Bpc3JjPWFsX25ld3NfX2FsZXJ0LXBvbGl0aWNzLS1hbGVydC1uYXRpb25hbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWFsZXJ0JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXdwX25ld3NfYWxlcnRfcmV2ZXJlJmxvY2F0aW9uPWFsZXJ0In0.Lw1oF2_e_hWTGS7iUQKyftJxxuJ5XFxMWZAt-hW5c1o

Toomey had created a major impasse last week by demanding new limits on the central bank’s emergency lending authority. His proposal, supported by Republican leadership, threatened the delicate negotiations over the relief package. But after hours of frenzied negotiations and meetings in the Capitol, a compromise between Toomey and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) was brokered around 9:30 p.m., aides in both parties said.

The revised language bars the Federal Reserve from creating precise copies of the lending programs created through the $2 trillion Cares Act passed by Congress. It affirmatively shuts down as of Jan. 1 those programs, which were seeded with a $500 billion appropriation by Congress in March. As congressional negotiators have discussed for weeks, the $429 billion in unspent funds will be redirected to other programs in the new $900 billion bill.

Toomey made his original proposal to make sure that the emergency Federal Reserve facilities created by Congress would shut down at the end of the year. Democrats worried that Toomey’s initial proposal went too far in restricting the central bank’s ability to use its long-standing emergency lending authority to respond to future economic calamities.

Republicans believe the new language will still prevent the Fed from pursuing vast new lending programs on its own without permission — and new appropriations — from Congress. At the same time, it gives the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden the clear authority to pursue new tools in conjunction with the central bank to confront threats to the economic recovery from the pandemic.

drray23

(7,587 posts)
4. if mcconnel retain control what we gained in exchange of that "compromise"
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 02:35 AM
Dec 2020

will amount to nothing.

Republicans believe the new language will still prevent the Fed from pursuing vast new lending programs on its own without permission — and new appropriations — from Congress. At the same time, it gives the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden the clear authority to pursue new tools in conjunction with the central bank to confront threats to the economic recovery from the pandemic.


Any new tool Biden wants wont pass the senate.

getagrip_already

(14,225 posts)
15. bs - the compromise is being spun by the gop harder than the dems....
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 10:44 AM
Dec 2020

which tells you they gave up the most. Just because it sounds bad, doesn't always mean it is as bad as it sounds, especially when politics are involved.

Biden's team will still be able to unilaterally craft stimulus lending, just not an exact copy of what existed. That sounds like weasel wording to me, and mcconnels grand claims don't hold water.

It's called face saving.

stopbush

(24,375 posts)
7. I half expect to learn that the Rs demanded that no relief be paid out until January
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 03:32 AM
Dec 2020

lest the American people have a little cash in their pockets to celebrate the holidays.

ouija

(397 posts)
10. I don't think it really matters all that much
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 06:40 AM
Dec 2020

I still think it depends on the Senate and the Georgia races. If Dems win it, this language matters not.

yaesu

(8,020 posts)
12. oh great, another better than nothing bill, lets see, wall street gets another big, wet kiss & the
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 09:29 AM
Dec 2020

poor get bent over, now isn't that special.

Turin_C3PO

(13,649 posts)
18. It is better than nothing.
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 01:27 PM
Dec 2020

People are missing meals right now as I’m typing this. They desperately need the extended unemployment and $600 stimulus. This will make a difference for millions of people.

DeminPennswoods

(15,246 posts)
13. The Fed's emergency lending powers have to be kept,
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 10:02 AM
Dec 2020

buy 429B unspent of 500B authorized is a lot left over. It's smart to apply those unspent funds to this bill under a different allocation.

I wonder how much of the 3T CARES Act money is still unspent. I know in Pennsylvania, the state legislature grabbed 1.3B of unspent CARES money to plug a hole in the state budget. Why wasn't this money spent when it was allocated? I'm sure it could have helped many businesses, especially in the hospitality segment, survive the various restrictions that have been and are being imposed on them if they'd gotten it upfront.

Nitram

(22,663 posts)
17. Toomey caved. No, we didn't get everything we wanted, but we got much of it - and Toomey's
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 01:20 PM
Dec 2020

poison pill disabling the FED was detoxed.

ProfessorGAC

(64,413 posts)
19. That's How I Read It, Tool
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 01:35 PM
Dec 2020

The vague language that could have tied the hands of the fed is gone.
The $429 billion is still there, but not for use of the fed. It will be directed to more specific things in the bill, which might he a positive.
I think it's Toomey who took the bullet.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
20. That's how HuffPo sees it too:
Sun Dec 20, 2020, 02:55 PM
Dec 2020

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) finally agreed to drop the broad language in his proposal that would have strictly curbed Federal Reserve emergency powers to launch emergency lending facilities. The Fed used those powers in March to provide loans to small and mid-sized businesses and buy state and local government bonds to aid the economy. The compromise would give the central bank more flexibility to respond to economic calamities. https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5fded619c5b60f828856e7e2

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Republican, Democrats rea...