and the u.s. senate gambling out here. lawmakers continued work on judicial nominations buried behind the scenes negotiation kineo in 2021 federal spending bill to avoid a government shutdown tomorrow at midnight. and it covid-19 relief package. follow live senate coverage here on cspan2. beck listen to c-span podcast, the weekly. this exact smith reported with the iowa press citizen joins us to discuss the race and iowa's second congressional district called over publican marion muller meeks by six votes for the contessa be decided by the house speaker of representatives. fight c-span's the weekly where you get your podcast. >> as a legislative session when sound senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and minority leader chuck schumer both spoke on the floor about negotiations for coronavirus relief package and a federal spending bill. >> well, we in congress are no

strangers to december funding deadlines or the occasional pre-christmas cliffhanger. in that respect, the situation we face now is familiar. funding for the federal government is hanging in the balance. for the next few days congress will either succeed or fail providing secure and stable funding for military commanders, are federal departments, and key investments for our future. fortunately our colleagues on the appropriations committee and their house speaker counterparts have been on the case. bipartisan, committee work and government funding legislation on the 1 yard line. i am optimistic that if we could close out our other parallel business, we should be able to fund the government and move forward together. but that brings me to the way in which this year is unlike anything we have seen before. it has been more than nine

months as our nation began to feel the full force of the covid-19 pandemic. the american people haven't done what americans do when crises come knocking. essential workers have kept our nation running, healthcare professionals have worked day and night to care for strangers. american businesses have adapted, reinvented and listen to the advice of medical experts. now see the light at the end of the title mr. president. operation warp speed is given a safe and effective vaccines in record time. but the american people need another bridge to those better days that are not so far off. the country needs congress to come through withes another targeted rescue package. they have waited months. they have waited and suffered. and some have died will needless political gains have played out. the american people wait for more emergency assistance ought to be over. months, i have called for

a targeted bipartisan package that would put hundreds of billions of dollars in the payroll support, testing, vaccine, distribution, extended unemployment aid, safe schools and other essential priorities. i am encouraged that her democratic colleagues have no him race this framework, this has been the right solution for our country all this time. in a by partisan bicameral treatment appears to be close at hand. the outline that i've been discussing theit democratic leader, speaker pelosi and leader mccarthy would get another huge dose of bipartisan support out the door as fast as possible. we have yet to nail down every detail. but in broad strokes we have been discussing the targeted second round of job saving paycheck protection program that republicans have sought since last p summer. we are discussing many tens of billions of dollars for distributing vaccines, covid testing and equipping safe schools to get our kids

education back on track. we are discussing extended and important unemployment programs. at the particular urging of president trump and secretary mnuchin who continued tof be the champions of cash relief for american families, we are discussing more direct impactil payments for individuals plus the bonus for families with children. these are just some of the major pillars. we are agreeing to be smart about financing these extraordinary policies. now listen to this, we tend to repurpose more than $400 billion of unspent funds which we already allocated in the cares act but it turned outd these funds did not need to be tapped to restore basic stability to our economy. it's tommy put that money to urgent use. like i said at the time yesterday, i'm heartened by her discussions and our progress. i believe all sides are working in good faith towards a shared goal of getting an outcome. but iin will say this

mr. president. in my judgment we are very close to a point that arises in every major negotiation. it's the point were each side faces a fork in the road. do we want to lapse into politics as usual and letti negotiation lose stain? going to haggle and spar look this is an ordinary political exercise, get wrapped around thecy axle of writers are policy writers that we know are controversial? or on the other hand after months of inaction do we want to move swiftly in with unusual bipartisanship to close out our issues? seal the deal and right that can quickly pass into law. in short we are in the point we need to decide for staying on the fast track b or drift back to business as usual. i say the answer should be obvious. after all of these months struggling americans don't just needey action. they need action fast. fast. so i continue to appreciate

our productive discussions. but help we also remember just how urgent the situation is for millions and millions of our fellow citizens. so for the information of all senators we are going to stay right here, right here until we are finished. evenwh if that means working through the weekend, which is highly likely. but if we need to further expect to attend the friday funding deadline before final legislation can pass in both chambers i hope we will extend it for a very, very short, short window of time. our citizens cannot afford for us to get bogged down in the back andor forth. let's finish up our bipartisan framework print let's make law as soon as possible. that is what our people deserve w. >> mr. president we continue to move closer to a final agreement on appropriations bill. in a package of emergency federal aid to provide the country relief.