AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The calendar says December 15, but it is Groundhog Day on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are still trying to come up with a coronavirus relief package. The current bipartisan version is actually two bills. The first would deliver enhanced unemployment benefits, protection from eviction and small-business support. The second bill offers liability protections for firms and aid for state and local governments. Both of those have been divisive issues. What neither bill includes is direct payments to individuals, and that is something Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been calling for. He joins us now. Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.