This coming weekend, the US House and Senate leaders will aim to reach a deal on a pandemic relief package to set up votes by the middle of next week. Since the negotiations were halted in late October, new proposals have surfaced as the US’ mushrooming Covid-19 cases place heightened stress on the economy.

Despite the urgency to reach a deal as earlier fiscal support runs out, both the Democrats and Republicans still show signs of resistance and accused each other of putting partisanship ahead of a compromise.

Bipartisan’s Aid Proposal Worth USD908bn

On Tuesday, bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a coronavirus aid proposal worth USD 908bn, aiming to break a months-long partisan impasse over emergency federal relief for the US economy amid the ongoing pandemic. The package is aimed mainly to assists small businesses, unemployed people, airlines and other industries during the pandemic.

However, this measure has not yet been written into legislation, nor has it been embraced yet by leaders in either party. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have been backing a larger bill of USD1.3tn for months. So far, President-elect Joe Biden has backed Pelosi.

On the other end, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has favored a smaller package closer to USD500bn, but indicated that compromise is within reach, as he recognises the urgency to reach a deal. If the bipartisan coronavirus aid bill gains traction, it could either be attached to the spending bill or advance on a separate track. The Maryland Democrat and Senate Majority Leader both agreed that it would be optimal to get an agreement by this weekend.

Source: Macquarie Research - 4 Dec 2020