Congress looks to break stalemate on coronavirus emergency package as stocks turmoil deepens
WASHINGTON – The Senate will try again Monday to break its logjam over an emergency stimulus package intended to stem the damage from the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats, who are pushing for more restrictions on corporate bailouts, negotiated late into the night with the Trump administration on the details of the legislation.
Senators are planning to reconvene at noon.
The impasse in Congress weighed heavily on the battered stock market, which had its worst week since the financial crisis last week.
On Sunday evening, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled more than 900 points while Standard Poor’s 500 futures fell 5%, triggering an automatic shock absorber.
The Senate is expected to convene at noon EDT.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blasted Democrats Sunday for opposing the GOP-crafted coronavirus rescue package and said he hoped they would have a “change of heart” after the U.S. financial markets opened Monday morning. McConnell noted there were already signs of another bad day on Wall Street as Congress remained gridlocked over how to help laid-off workers and shuttered businesses.
– Caren Bohan, Ledyard King, Jessica Menton