(CNN) A bipartisan group of senators is struggling to finalize negotiations over a massive package once viewed as the best bet in Congress to give relief to Americans suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, putting pressure on congressional leaders to take matters into their own hands ahead of a critical deadline next week. But the group has failed to reached an agreement on a central issue critical for Republican support: Providing protections from lawsuits for businesses, universities and other entities that opened during the pandemic. Republicans in the group say there needs to be an agreement on liability protections in order for them to sign off on a top Democratic priority: $160 billion for aid to state and local governments. Now congressional leaders must soon decide which items to roll into a funding bill to keep the government open past next week, discussions that top senators say have already begun. And in the group of senators, there are talks about ditching those two sticking points and signing off on the rest of the provisions, an idea favored by Republicans but one that Democrats have balked at.

Source: CNN December 11, 2020 20:14 UTC