Politico reports that talks aren't going anywhere
There are two main issues that Congress is facing in the lame duck session:
- A government funding bill to keep it open
- Covid relief
Issue #1 will have to be solved and will get done after the usual song-and-dance but issue #2 is uncertain and it's an issue that's moving the market. Late yesterday, Democratic Senate leader Schumer framed talks as a breakthrough on stimulus and the market liked it.
Today Politico is reporting that those talks were only about a funding bill. Reporter Jake Sherman writes that fresh talks on stimulus were "news to Republicans, who immediately said it was B.S. -- the meeting was simply about the end-of-year government funding bill, which is due for renewal on Dec. 11."
Some of it is semantics though, because covid relief programs could find their way into a government funding bill:
The two sides did in fact discuss the expiration of Covid relief-related items like pandemic unemployment assistance, student loan forbearance and the Paycheck Protection Program -- but they did not talk about a new Covid relief deal. The two sides did in fact discuss the expiration of Covid relief-related items like pandemic unemployment assistance, student loan forbearance and the Paycheck Protection Program -- but they did not talk about a new Covid relief deal.
A separate Politico report citing a White House source said the idea of any stimulus during the lame duck session was laughable.
