WASHINGTON — As lawmakers pushed to finalize a roughly $900 billion stimulus deal, congressional leaders remained divided on Thursday over a handful of issues whose outcome could help determine the course of a sputtering economic recovery. Democrats were mounting a last-ditch effort to provide emergency aid to states, which they argued was critical to helping governments weather the pandemic and avoid huge layoffs and cuts in services that could reverberate through the economy. Both disputes could carry heavy consequences for President-Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who will take office facing a cascade of fiscal and health crises throughout the country. Those could be even more dire if Congress fails to provide at least some assistance to cash-strapped states before the end of the year. And Democrats warned that reining in the Fed’s ability to restart lending programs could close off crucial avenues for his administration to help struggling sectors of the economy.

Source: New York Times December 17, 2020 23:43 UTC