Mitch McConnell acknowledged pressure to deliver more COVID-19 stimulus and said he thinks Congress can do it this month

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that there was "no reason" Congress couldn't quickly agree on a new stimulus bill.
• Democrats and Republicans have been at an impasse for months, with Republicans seeking a slimmer deal and Democrats looking for more.
• Time is short: Congress is meeting for a short session due to end by Christmas, and lawmakers also have to avert a government shutdown next week.
• Among the issues to be hashed out is whether to send another round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday acknowledged the mounting pressure to deliver another round of economic stimulus and said there was "no reason" it couldn't be done by the end of 2020.

Democrats and Republicans have been deadlocked over new stimulus, with Democrats looking to pass a much bigger package than GOP lawmakers will approve.

The latest big coronavirus relief package, the CARES Act, was enacted in the spring, and crucial parts expired in July. But many American businesses and households continue to suffer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McConnell said on the Senate floor on Monday that Congress had several things it "should get done before the end of the year."

"There is no reason — none — why we should not deliver another major pandemic relief package to help the American people through what seems poised to be the last chapters of this battle," he said.

Lawmakers are in session for only a few weeks and must address government funding to avoid a shutdown on December 11, leaving little time for McConnell's ambition to come true.

As Business Insider's Tom Porter reported on Monday, both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have called on Congress to come to an agreement.

Congressional leaders from both parties have continued to attack each other in recent days.

On Monday, McConnell described the two top congressional Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, as carrying out "all-or-nothing obstruction."

—Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) November 30, 2020

Pelosi and Schumer wrote to McConnell in November arguing for more spending than the GOP has been willing to approve.

"It is essential that this bill have sufficient funding and delivers meaningful relief to the many Americans who are suffering," they said, according to The New York Times.

Democrats have proposed a $2.2 trillion relief plan with a revival of the $600 weekly unemployment benefit from the CARES Act, another round of $1,200 direct payments for Americans, aid for small businesses, and funding for state and local governments.

Republicans have proposed a smaller relief package, arguing that the economy is better than expected. In September, they unveiled a $500 billion package that included small-business relief and public-health funding.

Senate Republicans did not include another round of $1,200 checks in their latest relief bill in October, per CNBC, though the parties had earlier signaled an agreement on sending more checks.

CNN reported on Monday that the congressional leaders were not negotiating directly but that their staffs were talking.

Many economists have urged lawmakers to pass another relief package to help minimize the economic blow of the pandemic.

Politico reported this week that millions of workers across the US could lose access to paid sick and family leave if Congress doesn't pass another relief package before the end of the year.