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Congress passed a multi-trillion “omnibus” bill Dec. 21 that provides approximately $900 billion in coronavirus relief, as well as $1.4 trillion to fund government operations through Sept. 30...

Congressional leaders will work through the weekend in an effort to reach agreement on an omnibus bill that would attach approximately $900 billion in coronavirus relief to a $1.4 trillion bill to fund the government until Oct. 1, 2021 – the final piece of legislation in the lame-duck session. Another short-term stopgap measure needs to be passed before midnight tonight to extend current funding, prevent a partial government shutdown and allow more time for Congress to complete the omnibus negotiations...

Congress this week extended government funding until Dec. 18 to avert a government shutdown and give bipartisan negotiators more time to finalize a pandemic relief bill, which remains at an impasse over business liability and state and local government aid provisions. President Trump is expected to approve the one-week spending bill before current funding expires tomorrow.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) today said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) agreed to aim for combining a pandemic relief package with government funding legislation in an “omnibus” bill that would prevent a partial shutdown later this month.

US and UK regulators are urging banks using the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) as a benchmark interest rate to stop writing new LIBOR contracts by the end of 2021, while most legacy contracts will be able to mature before use of the rate sunsets in June 2023.

Commercial real estate executives expressed a modest increase in optimism about market conditions despite serious COVID-related challenges, according to The Real Estate Roundtable’s Q4 Economic Sentiment Index released this week.

A quarterly survey of commercial real estate industry leaders reflects future optimism, despite ongoing serious COVID-related market challenges. Sentiment is somewhat bouyed by positive supply, demand and capital access, as well as hopeful expectations for a vaccine.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell yesterday requesting that five emergency lending facilities, including the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), should not be extended past their scheduled expiration on December 31, 2020. Mnuchin also requested the Fed to return unused Treasury loan funds from the programs for Congress to re-appropriate.

The Real Estate Roundtable this week held a virtual “town hall” to discuss the election and its impact on national policy issues. Participating in the discussion were Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roundtable Chair Debra Cafaro (Chairman and CEO, Ventas, Inc.), Chair-Elect John Fish (Chairman and CEO, Suffolk), Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer and policy staff. The Nov. 9 discussion addressed a wide range of policy issues with nearly 200 Roundtable members in attendance.

A coalition of national real estate organizations, including The Real Estate Roundtable, this week urged federal banking agencies to provide additional guidance that would reaffirm financial institutions may use reasonable judgment when assessing credit risk during the unique circumstances of the pandemic – such as allowing borrowers and lenders additional time to see properties and loans through the pandemic.

The growing number of state and local mandates to reduce GHG emissions and increase renewable energy supplies are driving the need for uniform and voluntary federal-level practices to measure and price carbon, The Roundtable advised in comments submitted on Tuesday.

Ballot counting in the presidential election continued for the fourth day this week as former Vice President Joe Biden made gains against President Trump in key battleground states. Control of the Senate balances on the results of undecided races in Alaska and North Carolina – and on both Senate seats in Georgia that will face run-off elections on Jan. 5.

The Business Continuity Coalition (BCC), which includes The Real Estate Roundtable, announced on Oct. 28 that it aims to develop a public/private business continuity insurance program with policymakers and other stakeholders. Such a program would enable employers, in the event of a government-ordered shutdown, to keep payrolls and supply chains intact; help limit job losses and furloughs; reduce stress on the financial system; and speed economic recovery when government-imposed limitations on operations are lifted.

Current negotiations on a pandemic relief bill remain at a standstill until the results of next week’s elections, which will impact the contours of a potential deal in a “lame-duck” Congress that must also pass funding legislation by Dec. 11 to avoid a partial government shutdown.