On an 84-10 roll call vote, senators passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open until Dec. 11, well after the November general election. The bill includes a one-year extension of the P-EBT program for children and replenishment of the “USDA’s bank,” so the flood of farm subsidies will continue to flow.
Meanwhile, House Democrats delayed a vote on a $2.2 trillion coronavirus package that would increase SNAP benefits by 15 percent for one year and offer billions of dollars of additional assistance to farmers and ranchers. The negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were believed to be one of the final chances for coronavirus aid before the Nov. 3 election. “Our conversations will continue,” Pelosi said after meeting with Mnuchin for 90 minutes.
Mnuchin prepared a counteroffer of roughly $1.5 trillion, reported CNBC. “We still don’t have an agreement, but we have more work to do,” he said after the meeting. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the House package was too large.
Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican, sought support for a Republican alternative of reviving the Payroll Protection Program, which has $137 billion of unspent funds. “Let’s save the small businesses,” he said, rather than passing what he called “a political messaging bill.”
“It’s not just about small businesses,” responded House Rules chairman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts. The Democratic bill would help state and local governments, schools, and election officials, among others, he said. The Democratic-controlled House agreed, 225-188, to debate the coronavirus bill but held up further action so that Pelosi and Mnuchin could continue their negotiations.