WASHINGTON — North Carolina’s two senators will reintroduce the Lumbee Recognition Act into Congress during the upcoming session.

The legislation must be reintroduced because it was not approved by Congress during the 116th session, which ends Jan. 3. By rule any legislation still in committee must be reintroduced. The recognition legislation was approved by the full U.S. House on Nov. 16 and sent to the Senate. It was referred to the Senate’s Committee on Indian Affairs, where it remains. The 117th session of Congress is scheduled to convene Jan. 3, when members will be sworn in.

It was hoped the Lumbee Recognition Act would be attached to the omnibus spending plan approved Monday evening by both chambers of Congress, but that did not happen.

Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, both Republicans, took to the Senate floor Monday and tried to persuade their colleagues to approve the legislation that would give the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina full federal recognition.

“They tried to pass it unanimously last night but it was blocked by Senate Democrats,” a statement from Tillis’ office reads in part.

Afterward, Tillis thanked the Lumbee people for their patience.

“We are so close, there is a compelling case, and it is a century in the making,” Tillis said Monday. “The fact that we couldn’t pass this bill today when it passed unanimously out of the House of Representatives just a month ago is a shame. They have been fighting for it for over a century, and I’m going to fight for it as long as I’m in the U.S. Senate.”

Burr said, “Either before or after we swear in the new Congress, I promise my colleagues this place will come to a grinding halt, and we will take it up through regular order, the Lumbee Recognition Act. We will debate it as long as people want to, and we will make the case why this discrimination is despicable.”

Also on Monday, the House and the Senate approved a $900 billion pandemic relief package onto which lawmakers tacked a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages of other end-of-session business, creating a massive bundle of bipartisan legislation as Capitol Hill prepared to close the books on the year. The bill goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, which is expected in the coming days.

Burr and Tillis voted in favor of the combined legislation, which was approved by the Senate on a 92-6 vote, with two senators not voting.

Tillis said the COVID-19 relief bill will provide another round of $600 stimulus checks to “hardworking North Carolinians and assistance to small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.” The omnibus legislation includes assistance for North Carolina farmers, help for small businesses, and protections for American intellectual property.

The COVID-19 relief package extends the Paycheck Protection Program and adds deductibility for PPP expenses while giving businesses experiencing severe revenue reductions an opportunity to apply for a second round of PPP loans, Tillis said. It also contains money for the continued development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.

“From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, my top priority has been protecting the physical health and economic future of North Carolinians,” Tillis said. “That’s why I have worked hard to introduce legislation that will benefit every North Carolinian and pushed for follow-up relief to help families and businesses in need as so many are still suffering from the effects of this pandemic.”

The relief package, unveiled Monday afternoon, sped through the House and Senate in a matter of hours. The Senate cleared the massive package after the House approved the COVID-19 package by another lopsided vote, 359-53. The tallies were a bipartisan coda to months of partisanship and politicking as lawmakers wrangled over the relief question, a logjam that broke after President-elect Joe Biden urged his party to accept a compromise with top Republicans that is smaller than many Democrats would have liked.

According to Tillis’ office, many items in the package approved Monday will directly benefit North Carolinians. Among them are:

— The Save Our Stages Act: This bipartisan legislation provides $15 billion to support live music and event venues, movie theaters, and museums, many of which drive local economic activity, especially in parts of North Carolina dependent on tourism.

— The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019: This bipartisan legislation makes the Craft Beer Modernization Act tax provisions permanent.

— The Small Business Expense Protection Act of 2020: This bipartisan legislation provides additional flexibility to the PPP by allowing businesses to access tax deductions when utilizing funds derived from a PPP loan. This would allow financially strapped businesses the ability to stretch their PPP loan as needed, providing an additional boost to liquidity.

— Provisions supporting North Carolina’s health-care workers by preventing payment cuts, delaying the Medicare sequester, and providing key flexibilities and certainty to health-care providers receiving support from the Provider Relief Fund.

— Ensuring North Carolinians are held harmless from surprise medical bills and ensures that patients know what to expect in advance of scheduled procedures. Sen.r Tillis was a co-sponsor of the STOP Surprise Medical Bills Act.

— Assistance to livestock and poultry farmers who had to depopulate animals because of supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19. Tillis was an original co-sponsor of the RELIEF for Producers Act. It also includes $200 million in assistance to the North Carolina logging industry. Tillis is a co-sponsor of the Loggers Relief Act. The bill also provides support to North Carolina livestock and poultry contract growers and textile industries affected by COVID-19.

— Providing an extension to the PSP, which will provide $16 billion in additional assistance for furloughed airline employees and contractors. This means more than 1,000 North Carolinians in the airline industry who were furloughed during the pandemic will receive paychecks for back pay. In addition, a provision was included that will bring air service back online for the Pitt-Greenville airport by the first week of January. The airport lost air service in October.

— Authorization for continued federal support of beach renourishment projects in Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure Beaches. It authorizes $53.8 million in federal funding for use over the remaining lifetime of the Wrightsville Beach renourishment project. It also authorizes a 15-year extension of the beach renourishment project at Carolina and Kure Beaches, providing $24.2 million beginning in 2022. The package also provides authorization for the port of Wilmington deepening project.

— $25 million to bring a critical runway at Elizabeth City Airport back on line. According to Tillis, the investment will enhance the U.S. Coast Guard’s training and readiness capabilities, strengthen the U.S. Coast Guard’s existing relationship with the Elizabeth City community, and provide a needed runway that will directly benefit Elizabeth City State University, which has the only four-year collegiate aviation education program in North Carolina.

— $7 billion for broadband activities, including $635 million for the USDA’s ReConnect program. Earlier this year, Tillis sent the Secretary of Agriculture a letter urging the expedited approval of ReConnect awards.

— Providing $2 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Treasury for passenger transportation services, including the bus, motor coach, and passenger vessel industry that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tillis co-sponsored the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act

— Providing $10 billion for child care, including direct support for child care providers for fixed costs and operating expenses, to help ensure working parents can work or return to work. Tillis co-sponsored the Back to Work Child Care Grants Act of 2020.

— A provision that will forgive outstanding debt of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that already received loans under the program.