As the House of Representatives adjourned for the year, a bevy of crucial legislative disputes remain unresolved in some of Congress’ most contentious battles of 2021.
As negotiations over the US China trade deal, the COVID-19 relief package, healthcare reform, and other policies continue to divide both sides of the aisle, the 2020 legislative session ended without resolution. Over the course of the year, Congress had attempted to pass a 5,600 page comprehensive relief package, but failed to reach an agreement in time before the December recess.
The relief bill experienced several setbacks, particularly caused by disagreement over the size and nature of the bill’s provisions. During the summer and the subsequent months, lawmakers battled between staying loyal to their party’s proposals and keeping their constituents’ needs at the forefront. This struggle stifled any progress in the relief bill discussions, with both sides believing their respective positions were deserving of more consideration.
With regard to reauthorizing the COVID-19 relief package, both parties worked directly with the Trump administration to craft a plan to end the pandemic before the year ended. However, the multi-trillion dollar relief bill failed to pass the Senate following several filibusters, save for a few bipartisan votes, such as the Democrats’ extended unemployment insurance.
An additional hot-button issue of 2020 has been the US China trade deal. The complicated trade regime has been a point of contention since the start of the year, and had brought progress between the two countries to a standstill over the years. Following the sparring over China’s trade practices, the US and China announced in December that two-way tariffs between the countries will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future. The US and China are likewise committed to meeting next year to discuss further trade agreements.
In addition to economic policies, healthcare reform has been a critical legislative battle of 2020. The House Democrats, in an effort to make healthcare more affordable, offered a plan to lowercr health insurance costs – though their proposal failed to pass into legislation. Resonating from the Affordable Care Act debate that took place in 2020, House Democrats hope to revisit the issue during the next legislative session.
Overall, while many issues of contention remained unresolved when the House of Representatives adjourned, lawmakers will continue to confront these disputes once the new legislative session begins. As the acrimonious action continues in Congress, the resolution of critical controversies – such as the US China trade deal, COVID-19 relief package, and healthcare reform – before 2021 drew to a close remains elusive.