Congress Sees Hope for COVID Stimulus Bill Yet

There is a reckoning coming for our elected officials in 2021 if they can’t do what we sent them to Washington to do, and congressional leaders know it.

We elevate our public servants to the national level only when we know that we can trust them to do what’s best for us.  They are the public’s servants, after all, and if they can’t get that one simple fact straight, they have no place representing us.

But instead, we find them bickering and jawing at one another over partisan points and silly feuds that do literally nothing for the population at large.  Remember, we the people are still in charge around here.

And now that we are facing an economic disaster on the horizon, it looks like Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell are finally getting things settled on a new COVID relief bill. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke by telephone Thursday afternoon — notable because the two top leaders hadn’t spoken about legislation addressing the pandemic since the election.

Up until Thursday they had been blaming each other in press conferences and floor speeches for the lack of action. Then, on Friday, Pelosi told reporters she feels what she called “momentum” and that she believes Democrats and Republicans are moving toward compromise.

An incoming new administration and the promise associated with new coronavirus vaccines are “a total game-changer,” the speaker said.

The two sides are getting closer in terms of the possible size of a package, but key policy differences over liability protections and whether to help state and local governments continue to be the chief hang-ups. The time pressure is also working against members, as pulling together a measure costing hundreds of billions of dollars in a matter of days is colliding with efforts to finalize a massive government funding bill.

A previous coronavirus stimulus package included a moratorium on evictions that is set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress renews it.  Should that not occur, and should Congress be unable to provide some other form of stimulus to stave off a mass eviction event, there is no doubt at all that our public servants will be given a swift and stern reminder about who truly holds the power in this country.