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Congress back in Washington this week focused on passing a broader spending bill by December 11 to avoid a partial government shutdown, although it is possible that some relief can be added to an equally larger spending bill.
President-elect Joe Biden backs a Democrat-backed $ 3 trillion bill that passed the House in May, which called for a second round of checks. But this package is unlikely to pass Congress unless Democrats take control of the Senate by winning the two Senate second-round races in Georgia scheduled for Jan.5.
Congress has already allowed some relief programs to expire, like the Paycheck Protection Program for Small Businesses and the $ 600 federal boost to weekly unemployment benefits.
But others end this month. If Congress adds a stimulus to the general spending bill, it may prioritize extending those deadlines.
Extended unemployment benefits
As part of the historic expansion of unemployment benefits under the CARES Act, lawmakers created three programs to help unemployed Americans. While the $ 600 payout improvement only lasted four months, the other two last for the week ending December 26, which is the last weekend of the year.
One of them, the Unemployment Pandemic Assistance Program, allows independent contractors, self-employed workers and workers to qualify for payments. It also opens the program to those who cannot work due to the pandemic, including if they or their family members are sick or in quarantine or if their children’s schools are closed.
The other program, called Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Benefit, provides an additional 13 weeks of federally-paid benefits to those who run out of state payments, which typically last 26 weeks.
Student loan payment break
In March, the US government automatically suspended payments and waived interest on federal student loans. This meant that millions of borrowers could miss their monthly payments without their balances becoming larger.
Initially, the relief – which was included in the congressional $ 2 trillion stimulus package – was scheduled to expire at the end of September. But President Donald Trump then postponed the date to December 31 by executive decision.
If neither Trump nor Congress act to extend the deadline, millions of student loan payments will fall due weeks before Biden takes office on January 20. Even if Biden reinstates the break retroactively, it could create confusion for borrowers as well as a mess for student loan processors, who aren’t designed to suddenly stop or start payment.
Protection against evictions
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order, which came into effect in September, temporarily suspended evictions until the end of the year. It applies to tenants who meet certain income requirements, who have suffered significant income losses, and who have made their best efforts to find rent assistance and pay their rent.
Since the order does not cancel or freeze rent, the entire rent arrears of a tenant will be due on January 1 if the moratorium expires. Without rent relief or extended protection, many troubled tenants will again face eviction.
A moratorium on evictions established by Congress in March protected only tenants who receive federal assistance or live in apartment buildings that receive federal funding. This protection expired during the summer.
Paid family leave
Earlier this year, lawmakers expanded paid family leave benefits for many workers who fall ill or take care of someone else.
It was limited to employees of companies with fewer than 500 workers, but provided for up to two weeks of paid sick leave and an additional 10 weeks of extended family leave for parents who have to care for children whose schools have closed.
However, payments are capped and small businesses can request waivers of provisions for workers whose children’s schools have closed.
These benefits will also expire on December 31.
CNN’s Tami Luhby and Lauren Fox contributed reporting.
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