No shutdown, but no final deals either

Congress still trying to hammer out COVID relief, Omnibus funding bill

Congress avoids a weekend government shutdown. But now the deadline is Sunday night. Here's your *bonus* Saturday morning update for December 19, 2020.

CONGRESS OPTS FOR 2-DAY STOPGAP: With no deal yet by Friday evening on a Coronavirus relief bill, or a giant year-end government funding bill, Congress did what it does best - kick the can down the road. In this case, lawmakers gave themselves an extra 48 hours, shifting the next government shutdown deadline to Sunday night at midnight. "The negotiations are moving forward," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), "but there is a little bit more time required." It wouldn't surprise me if another short-term 'CR' is needed to keep the government funded, and allow time for votes in the House and Senate. But first, we need some agreements to be finalized.

• DUPREE RULE OF THUMB. Most Americans don't give a damn that the Congress is working on the weekend before Christmas. But a few more people may be paying attention than usual because of the Coronavirus aid plan, which includes help for unemployed workers, and direct checks for many families. "I'm on unemployment benefits right now so I've been watching and waiting," one of my extended family in Montana wrote me this week.

LEGISLATIVE CHRISTMAS TREE. Evidently Christmas tree farmers are doing very well during the pandemic. And the Congressional Christmas tree may have lots of extra gifts in the final COVID relief / Omnibus funding measure being put together on Capitol Hill. We've been told two of the big extras may be a measure on surprise medical billing, and a water resources package. But there's bound to be other things, because this will be the last train out for the 116th Congress. Don't read the press releases in coming days. You only want to see the legislative text to know what's in the bill. And as of Saturday morning, those details still aren’t public.

• TWO REPUBLICANS VOTE REMOTELY. For months, Democrats worried by the Coronavirus outbreak have taken full advantage of a temporary rule which allows them to vote remotely in the full House, while most Republicans have refused to use the option, and challenged it in court. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL) was the first GOP lawmaker to break ranks and vote remotely in late July. Two more did on Friday evening, as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) found Democrats willing to cast their votes by proxy on the House floor. Both men filed their proxy letters on Friday - Shimkus wrote his by hand.

FIGHT FOR THE GOP. If you're looking for something different on social media, try the tweets of GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who is using his Twitter feed to attack a variety of conspiracy theories which have taken root within the Republican Party. Not only is Kinzinger regularly mocking President Trump, and belittling QAnon, but he's also been after former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who has been getting attention in conservative media by calling on President Trump to declare martial law in order to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden.

THE HISTORY BOOKS. One year ago today, the Congress wrapped up work for 2019, giving final approval to a massive Omnibus funding bill (sound familiar?), which included a plan to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco products to 21 years old. The House also approved President Trump's USMCA trade deal with Mexico and Canada. That came a day after the House voted to impeach President Trump.

LEGISLATIVE NERD NOTE: This may not be the AP Style Guide, but years ago in the Senate Radio TV Gallery, we established that Saturday sessions should be labeled as 'unusual,' while Sunday sessions should be described as 'rare.'

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR SATURDAY

House is out on Saturday, and convenes Sunday at 12 noon.

Senate convenes at 11 am.

President Trump has no public events.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree

Email: jamiedupree@substack.com

"Conference reports may be brought up at any time. Any further program will be announced later."