Government Shutdown Looms, Covid Relief Bill Held Up by Republicans
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The U.S. Capitol dome is seen at night in Washington, U.S., December 17, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott
The U.S. Congress looked increasingly unlikely on Friday to meet a deadline to agree on $900 billion in fresh COVID-19 aid and instead may pass a third stopgap spending bill to keep the government from shutting down at midnight.
After months of partisan finger-pointing and inaction, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating intensely this week on what is expected to be the biggest package since spring to provide relief to a country struggling with a pandemic that is killing over 3,000 people a day.
Should COVID relief aid go to the Postal Service?
Columbia Daily Tribune
By Max B. Sawicky
As a public service, the U.S. Postal Service has provided a significant boost to the nation’s prosperity and well-being. A strong postal service is essential under the current threats of a pandemic and an economic recession.
The USPS is in financial trouble for no reason other than the Congress decreed that it should be so. The president’s role has been to install a postmaster-general, one Louis DeJoy, to administer the coup de grâce.
In 2006 the Congress enacted the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, requiring the service to pre-fund its employee pensions and retirement health care insurance with revenues from stamps and the like, unlike most other federal government agencies. The result is operating deficits that give DeJoy an excuse to cut services. Such cuts will further reduce revenues, giving rise to further deficits. Rinse and repeat.
Biden to get Covid vaccine on Monday after US VP Pence has jab live on TV
AFP/Washington, United States
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
(Reuters)
US President-elect will, like Pence, receive the vaccine in public in a bid to inspire confidence in the jab. Building confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning, Pence said after being injected, quipping: I didn t feel a thing.
Pence, his wife Karen and the nation s lead public health official, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, were all given the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the annex to the White House.
Signalling the importance given to the event, top infectious disease official Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield were also in the room.
Still no COVID-19 relief Bill as US Congress faces shutdown deadline Toggle share menu
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Still no COVID-19 relief Bill as US Congress faces shutdown deadline
The U.S. Capitol dome is seen at night in Washington, U.S., December 17, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott
18 Dec 2020 10:49PM (Updated:
18 Dec 2020 10:49PM) Share this content
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WASHINGTON: The US Congress looked increasingly unlikely on Friday (Dec 18) to meet a deadline to agree on US$900 billion in fresh COVID-19 aid and instead may pass a third stopgap spending Bill to keep the government from shutting down at midnight.
After months of partisan finger-pointing and inaction, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating intensely this week on what is expected to be the biggest package since spring to provide relief to a country struggling with a pandemic that has killed nearly 309,000 Americans.
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