As Congress returned to work this week, leaders moved closer to deals on final Fiscal Year 21 appropriations and a Phase IV COVID-19 relief package.
Since the October 1st start of FY21, federal agencies have been operating off of a stopgap funding measure that will expire on December 11th. The continuing resolution gave Congress additional time to complete the FY21 appropriations process along with a hope that compromise might be easier to reach after the November elections. At a minimum, ahead of the approaching deadline, Congress is expected to approve another short stopgap measure to gain additional legislative days to complete their work on appropriations. However, it remains possible that they could put forward an omnibus package that provides final appropriations for the current fiscal year. Democrats and Republicans appear intent on avoiding a government shutdown next Friday.
The House and Senate have debated the merits of a Phase IV COVID-19 package since April. Differences largely over the scope of a new relief bill, combined with election year political calculations, prevented much actual movement towards a final product. Early in the week, a bipartisan Senate blueprint emerged that seems to be gaining traction on the Hill. Of particular note to the higher education community, the $908 billion proposal would provide $160 billion in state and local aid as well as $82 billion for schools and $4 billion in student loan relief. Speaker Pelosi has expressed a new openness to a package of this type, which is far smaller than the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act that she moved through the House in May. According to the Speaker, there is now a willingness to advance a smaller bill since the incoming Biden administration would make additional COVID-19 relief resources a top priority in the new year.
The FY21 appropriations bills and some form of COVID-19 relief could be packaged together in the days ahead. The actions of the next week should indicate whether final deals can be reached before the new administration takes office.
