Two new stimulus packages have been proposed while lawmakers continue to push for second stimulus checks to help Americans cope with the coronavirus-led economic crisis.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell want to add stimulus measures to the spending bill that must be passed before the Dec.11 deadline.Stimulus Measures Could Be Added to Spending Bill That Must Pass This Week
U.S.lawmakers unveiled new stimulus proposals last week after months of negotiations with no progress on either a new coronavirus relief stimulus package or second stimulus checks for Americans.
Time is running out for a stimulus bill to be approved before the end of the year when several key benefits from the first stimulus package will expire.Lawmakers are also scheduled to begin their holiday recess on Dec.
18, and they must approve a spending bill by Dec.
11 to avoid a government shutdown .
After failing to come to an agreement with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now discussing stimulus terms directly with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Pelosi told reporters on Friday that she and McConnell had agreed to try to reach a deal that could be included in the spending bill that must be passed by the Dec.11 deadline.She believes that there is “sufficient time” to close a deal before that date.Both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have urged Congress to pass the next stimulus bill now.Two New Stimulus Proposals
A compromise $908 billion bipartisan stimulus package was unveiled last week by a group of GOP and Democratic senators who are expected to finalize legislation over the weekend.
This stimulus package includes $300 weekly federal unemployment benefits, $160 billion in state and local aid, another $288 billion for more small business assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $45 billion for struggling airlines and mass transit systems, $25 billion for rental assistance and $35 billion for healthcare.
However, it does not include a provision for second stimulus checks for individuals.
Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement on Wednesday, stating:
In the spirit of compromise we believe the bipartisan framework … should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations.
While top Democrats have embraced this $908 billion stimulus plan as the starting point for negotiations, McConnell indicated last week that he would not support this package, pushing for his own smaller proposal.
However, Senator Bill Cassidy, one of the lawmakers who worked on the bipartisan framework, said Sunday that both McConnell and Trump will eventually “come on board,” noting that President Trump has already indicated that he would sign the $908 billion package.
Meanwhile, McConnell has proposed another stimulus package of his own that is being negotiated behind closed doors and likely resembles the two $500 billion stimulus bills he previously proposed.His plan omits both second stimulus checks for Americans and the $600-per-week federal boost to unemployment insurance.
McConnell tweeted on Wednesday:
I put forward yet another proposal that would invest many billions in workers, laid-off Americans, small businesses, & vaccine distribution.I hope Democrats will finally let us get a bipartisan outcome soon.
“We don’t have time for messaging games.We don’t have time for lengthy negotiations.I would hope that this is something that could be signed into law by the president, be done quickly, deal with the things we can agree on now,” he continued.
Mnuchin told reporters that “The president will sign the McConnell proposal” as he walked into a House committee hearing on his department’s response to the pandemic on Wednesday.Did Pelosi Make a Mistake Rejecting the $1.8 Trillion White House Offer With Second Stimulus Checks?
Pelosi has come under fire for turning down a larger stimulus deal with direct payments to Americans only to back a smaller package with no second stimulus checks.
Prior to the election, the White House offered her a $1.8 trillion stimulus package that contained second stimulus checks, which she turned down, refusing to compromise her $2.2 trillion Heroes Act .
The $908 billion package she now supports does not provide for another round of direct payments to Americans.
Pelosi insists that her rejecting the $1.8 trillion offer was not a mistake.She said during her weekly press conference Friday:
That was not a mistake, it was a decision … Now, the fact is, I’m very proud of where we are.
However, some of her colleagues disagree with her.Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told CNN on Friday that they should have taken the $1.8 trillion stimulus deal.Mnuchin publicly said at the time that if Pelosi accepted it, President Trump would squeeze McConnell and get the bill passed.
The house speaker attributed her decision to support the $908 billion stimulus package without second stimulus checks to Biden’s election and the looming arrival of two vaccines, which she called “a total game-changer.” Pelosi said: “President-elect Biden has said this package would be at best just a start.That’s how we see it, as well.”
Meanwhile, Biden said on Friday that he was “confident” that an agreement was possible, stating:
It’s not going to satisfy everybody, but the option is, if you insist on everything, we’re likely to get nothing on both sides.Lawmakers Fighting to Provide Direct Payments to Americans
The omission of second stimulus checks for individuals has caused quite a stir, with a number of lawmakers vowing that they will not support a bill without direct payments to Americans.
Senator Bernie Sanders was among those who are unsatisfied with the new stimulus proposals.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to significantly improve this bill.But in its current form, I cannot support it,” he said Friday.Sander affirmed that the omission of another round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans was “unacceptable.”
Representative Rashida Tlaib is also against not providing a second round of stimulus checks to individuals.She tweeted:
It’s critical that we have another stimulus check.
Direct payments help families in desperate need & it stimulates our local economy.
Do you think Americans will soon receive second stimulus checks? Let us know in the comments section below.NEWS | 7 hours ago Tags in this story
Use Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to play online casino games here .
Disclaimer : This article is for informational purposes only.
It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies.Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.Read disclaimer Asset Manager Vaneck Launches Physically-Backed Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Note On November 25, the asset manager Vaneck announced the launch of an exchange-traded product (ETP) called the “Vaneck Vector Bitcoin ETN.” The exchange-traded note is physically-backed by bitcoin and listed on the trading exchange Deutsche Böerse Xetra.The newly listed …read more.Mike Novogratz: Everyone Should Put 2% to 3% of Their Net Worth in Bitcoin Bitcoin bull and Galaxy Digital CEO, Mike Novogratz, says bitcoin is for everyone.He argues that those committing 2% to 3% of their net worth to this digital asset today will see substantial gains in five years.Novogratz adds that …read more.
Major Australian Investment Firm Moves From Gold to Bitcoin A billion-dollar Australian investment management firm has gotten into bitcoin, citing that the cryptocurrency is superior to gold.Many of the firm’s clients have been asking about investing in bitcoin.
“We have been positioning in gold for our clients for …read more.Facebook’s Libra Crypto Gets Ready to Launch in January as a Single Coin Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency is reportedly preparing to launch with a single cryptocurrency, a scaled-down version of its original plan.
The launch date for Facebook’s libra could be as early as January.Launch Date for Facebook’s Libra The cryptocurrency libra, proposed …read more.Canadian Public Company Dumps Ethereum and Monero for Bitcoin A Canadian publicly held company has liquidated all of its ethereum and monero holdings and put all of the proceeds into bitcoin.
The company is led by a well-known poker player and former member of the European Parliament.Cypherpunk Dumps …read more.Fighting Definancialization: Cryptologic Methods Like Bitcoin Could Protect Wealth From the Great Reset The Great Reset agenda is trending once again on social media, numerous news outlets, and a variety of online forums.During the last few months, the Great Reset proposal has been pushed worldwide, as it allegedly seeks to create a …read more.Former Trump Economic Advisor and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn Warns Bitcoin May Fail A former top economic advisor to President Donald Trump and president of Goldman Sachs has shared his view about bitcoin.
He claims that the cryptocurrency “lacks some of the basic integrity of a real market,” warning that it “may fail.” …read more.Historian Niall Ferguson Says Bitcoin Is Winning the Covid-19 Monetary Revolution Historian and senior fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Niall Ferguson says bitcoin is winning the Covid-19 monetary revolution.Hailing the virtual currency as a great place for the rich to store their wealth, Ferguson also notes that …
read more.New Paper: Ripple Network Doesn’t Meet Criteria To Reach Consensus A brand-new paper which analyzes the Ripple network concluded that the network does not reach true consensus, as its protocol “may violate safety and liveness,” and doesn’t follow the established models and algorithms for a Byzantine agreement.Report Claims XRP’s …
read more.
Coinbase Says It Brokered Microstrategy’s Influential $425 Million Bitcoin Buy U.S.crypto exchange Coinbase said Tuesday that it brokered Microstrategy’s $425 million bitcoin purchase earlier this year.
Until now, it has not been clear who facilitated the deal.Microstrategy’s first bitcoin (BTC) haul of $250 million bought in August was …read more.Chinese State-Run Media Believe BTC Price Surge Is Just ‘Hype’ While Praising Blockchain Two Chinese state-run media outlets have published a brief news item urging citizens to focus more on blockchain technology than on the “hype” of the recent surging Bitcoin prices across the board.
China’s Government to Focus on Blockchain Both Sina …read more.65% of Traders on Paypal Ready to Use Bitcoin to Pay for Goods and Services: Survey At least 65% of people who use the Paypal app to trade bitcoin are prepared to start using the top cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services at the 28 million stores supported by the payments company throughout the world….read more.
Cryptocurrency Indexes Are Set to Launch in 2021 by S&P Dow Jones Indices S&P Dow Jones Indices has made it official: they will launch cryptocurrency indexes in 2021, becoming the latest major finance company to make its inception into the digital asset industry.More than 550 of the top traded coins to be …read more.
Financial Analysts Expect US Dollar to Soften Further, 2021 Could Be the Greenback’s ‘Worst Year Ever’ Well before the coronavirus pandemic, global economists expected a grim-looking American economy and during the last ten months of the Covid-19 outbreak, the U.S.financial system looks even worse.Economists and analysts say the biggest concern is the U.S.dollar …read more.Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Decries the Use of Parallel Exchange Rate as Citizens Switch to Crypto The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele says the embrace of the parallel market exchange rate by some professionals in that country is unfair and unfortunate.
The CBN governor says the parallel foreign exchange market only …read more.Equity Strategist Says Crypto Has a Place in Portfolios, Bitcoin Price to Reach $50,000 in 2021 An equity and derivatives strategist with a global financial services firm specializing in institutional trading believes that bitcoin has a place in investment portfolios.He has a price target for bitcoin of $50,000 in 2021.
Bitcoin Has a Place in …read more.
New Draft U.S.Law Will Make It Illegal to Issue Stablecoins Without Federal Reserve Approval Three U.S.
lawmakers have introduced a bill that will force private stablecoin issuers to obtain a banking charter (or license) and approval from the Federal Reserve before they can issue a stablecoin.Instigated by Rep.Rashida Tlaib, with support from …read more.
Unbanked Hong Kong Chief Carrie Lam: “I Have Piles of Cash at Home” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam says she is currently unbanked and keeps piles of cash stashed at her home courtesy of US sanctions.Alongside 14 Chinese and Hong Kong officials, Lam has been slapped with punitive measures that effectively …
read more.Research Suggests Bitcoin Buying Ramps Up When Traditional US Markets Open While bitcoin and a number of digital assets set new 2020 price highs, a variety of crypto-asset commentators have detailed that since October, there’s been a lot of bitcoin buying action during U.S.market hours.Data shows that between East …read more.Bitcoin’s Rise Causes Shortage of Mining Rigs, Most Units Sold Out, Miners Concerned About Supply While the bitcoin economy has swelled in value, the overall network hashrate has gradually climbed higher as miners are making a lot of money confirming blocks.
However, obtaining bitcoin mining rigs isn’t so easy these days, and regional reports from …
read more.Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Paul Tudor Jones Expects Bitcoin’s Market Cap to Grow Beyond $500 Billion Famed hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has updated his view on bitcoin.Envisioning a bullish future similar to “the metals complex where you have precious crypto,” he says that $500 billion is the wrong market cap for bitcoin, given …
read more.Trading Exchange Okex’s Crypto Reserves Nosedived After Withdrawals Opened Just recently, after the exchange paused cryptocurrency withdrawals, the trading platform Okex finally enabled digital currency withdrawals last Wednesday.Since then, the exchange seems to be experiencing an exodus of funds leaving, as onchain data shows Okex’s crypto-asset reserves like …read more.
US Representatives Add Digital Currencies to the 2021 Defense Bill The United States government is preparing to pass the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the latest bill includes a broad definition of currencies and includes “digital currencies.” However, after more than 50 NDAA bills passed, President Donald Trump …read more.Black Shadow Hackers Demand 200 BTC Ransom from Israeli Insurance Giant Shirbit One of the largest insurance companies in Israel has been hit by a ransomware attack, and the threat actors started to release sensitive data, as the firm doesn’t pay the requested ransom in bitcoin (BTC).Israel-Based Shirbit Still Refuses to …read more.The Latest.
