Congress reportedly close to announcing spending bill compromise to avoid shutdown

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 14 December 2020

Congress could announce a $1.4 trillion spending deal as soon as Monday that would avoid a government shutdown ahead of Friday's midnight deadline, three sources told Politico. The legislative text is reportedly expected Tuesday.

One GOP aide told Politico that debate remains open on just a "few small items," but otherwise a compromise looks like it's in place.

Politico notes the omnibus deal is expected to be the last major piece of legislation pushed through Congress in the lame-duck session, and the hope is that lawmakers will attach a COVID-19 relief package, in some form, to the larger bill. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to get colleagues to sign up for a $908 billion stimulus that would be split into two pieces, but it has faced resistance from Senate Republicans and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who plans to reject it because it doesn't include stimulus checks. Read more at Politico.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.