Senate Averts Shutdown as Covid-Aid Talks Continue

The Senate passed the short-term funding bill by unanimous consent early Friday afternoon, after Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) dropped their objections to the bill proceeding. The pair has sought to pass another round of $1,200 direct checks for many Americans.

The push to keep the government funded comes as lawmakers are still seeking to craft a coronavirus relief bill. Top Senate Republicans have indicated that a bipartisan group’s efforts to find a compromise on a $908 billion framework aren’t likely to win their support. However, the coalition of Republicans and Democrats continued negotiations on Friday.

At the center of the talks is crafting legal protections for businesses, health-care providers and schools that both Democrats and Republicans can support.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has long sought the creation of a liability shield for another relief bill. On Tuesday, though, he said that negotiators should drop the measure from the current package, along with aid to state and local governments, which has been a Democratic priority in the negotiations. Aides for Mr. McConnell told staff for Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill that the liability proposals currently under discussion fell short of what he saw as necessary.

In the talks, Democrats have offered creating an affirmative defense for coronavirus-related suits, which could clear defendants of liability if they are able to prove certain conditions. They have also proposed freezing coronavirus-related suits for six months, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Mr. McConnell has pushed for legislation that would make it more difficult for courts to find businesses, schools, or health-care facilities at fault if employees, students or customers contracted Covid-19. It also would give federal courts jurisdiction over cases involving alleged coronavirus exposure and least through 2024, Mr. McConnell said. Republicans in the bipartisan talks are seeking a liability shield that lasts at least 18 to 24 months, according to the person familiar with the talks.

The bipartisan group has largely resolved the issue of how to distribute state and local funding, aides said, another longstanding sticking point in the talks.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had earlier this week proposed a $916 billion offer to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), which included both state and local funding and liability protections. The offer included smaller direct checks of $600 in aid per person to many Americans, but omitted the $300 a week in enhanced unemployment insurance that the bipartisan group had proposed.

Write to Andrew Duehren at [email protected] and Kristina Peterson at [email protected]