COVID Relief

On COVID-19 relief, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter this week to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) encouraging him to return to the negotiating table to discuss another COVID-19 relief package.  Senator Schumer stated late in the week that Senator McConnell had agreed to have staff discuss this topic, but this characterization has been disputed by Republican aides and no official conversations have been scheduled. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also stated this week that these negotiations are now in the hands of Congress. (If you remember before the election, Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had been in negotiations, which did not bring a deal.)

Fiscal Year 2021

Regarding FY2021 funding, the current continuing resolution runs out on December 11.  It is believed that Congress will pass a large omnibus funding bill before this time, but it is unclear if President Trump will sign such a large package into law.  As you are likely aware, President Trump has yet to official concede the 2020 Presidential Election, which puts a large question mark on any current legislative work. We will keep you posted!