The US Congress is very close to agreeing on a crisis package

The US Congress is very close to agreeing on a crisis package

"It looks like it will work. If it goes on like this and nothing gets in our way, then we will be able to vote tomorrow (Sunday)," Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal. US lawmakers have been talking about a new package of crisis measures for months, but all efforts to approve it have so far failed relatively quickly. However, according to the AP, after months of insincere dialogue, Republicans and Democrats began serious negotiations in December in an effort to achieve a result before the Christmas break. According to the media, the agreement came significantly closer after Schumer agreed with Republican counterpart Pat Toomey to ease his late proposal to limit the US central bank's ability to fight the current crisis. According to the AP, both the Democrats and the White House considered Toomey's proposal to be too broad; after the narrowing of this provision, work on the stimulus package has reportedly reached its final stage. The legislators want to approve additional benefits for the unemployed or a new small business support program together with the federal budget for the period until September next year. The new budget needs to be adopted by midnight, when the already approved funding for the federal authorities expires.