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WASHINGTON: The United States Senate unanimously approved $ 484 billion in additional aid for the coronavirus for the United States economy and hospitals that treat people sick with the pandemic on Tuesday, sending the measure to the House of Representatives for final approval later this week.
The bill, passed by the Senate in a voice vote in an almost empty chamber, was rushed shortly after leaders of Congress and the White House negotiated a deal.
The House is expected to vote Thursday on what would be the fourth coronavirus response law. Together, the four measures total approximately $ 3 trillion in aid since last month to tackle a crisis that has killed more than 43,000 Americans.
President Donald Trump urged Congress to quickly pass the measure, which primarily expands funds for small business loans that were hampered by the pandemic, leaving additional help to state and local governments for a later bill.
Previously, Washington provided nearly $ 350 billion in loans to small businesses affected by the coronavirus that can be converted into grants if certain requirements are met. That funding quickly ran out.
Critics of the show said too much money had gone to bigger, better-connected companies. To combat that, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said $ 125 billion of small business funds in the latest package would go to “mom and pop” and minority-owned stores.
Pointing to the “timeline” for passing the bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said it was necessary during “unprecedented times for the entire nation.”
The deal includes $ 321 billion for a small business loan program, $ 60 billion for a separate disaster emergency loan program, also for small businesses, as well as $ 75 billion for hospitals and $ 25 billion for National tests for coronavirus.
Schumer, during a brief debate, highlighted the funds from the bill to combat the coronavirus, as well as help for small businesses.
“We can make loans to small businesses, but if there are no customers walking the streets to enter their stores, what good is it?” Schumer said.
Congress is already working on a fifth coronavirus response bill. Schumer said it could be “similar in size” to the $ 2.3 trillion economic stimulus enacted on March 27.
With each passing week, Washington has faced a deepening crisis that has led Republicans and Democrats to work in a largely bipartisan way to ease the heavy human and economic burden of a pandemic that has affected more than 795,000 in the United States and has thrown more than 22 million people out of work.
The U.S. economy has been hit by the shutdown of businesses, and residents have observed stay-at-home orders aimed at minimizing the spread of Covid-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
While Republicans initially insisted that the latest bill provide new funding only for small businesses, Democrats managed to expand it to hospitals and other healthcare facilities and more money for coronavirus testing.
Democrats were unable to convince Republicans to increase federal emergency funds for state and local governments that are reeling from the heavy loss of revenue due to the virus and infrastructure spending that Democrats have been requesting during the crisis.
However, Trump said in a Twitter post that he would strike up talks to help state and local governments and look for ways to include infrastructure investments in the upcoming bill.
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The bill, passed by the Senate in a voice vote in an almost empty chamber, was rushed shortly after leaders of Congress and the White House negotiated a deal.
The House is expected to vote Thursday on what would be the fourth coronavirus response law. Together, the four measures total approximately $ 3 trillion in aid since last month to tackle a crisis that has killed more than 43,000 Americans.
President Donald Trump urged Congress to quickly pass the measure, which primarily expands funds for small business loans that were hampered by the pandemic, leaving additional help to state and local governments for a later bill.
Previously, Washington provided nearly $ 350 billion in loans to small businesses affected by the coronavirus that can be converted into grants if certain requirements are met. That funding quickly ran out.
Critics of the show said too much money had gone to bigger, better-connected companies. To combat that, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said $ 125 billion of small business funds in the latest package would go to “mom and pop” and minority-owned stores.
Pointing to the “timeline” for passing the bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said it was necessary during “unprecedented times for the entire nation.”
The deal includes $ 321 billion for a small business loan program, $ 60 billion for a separate disaster emergency loan program, also for small businesses, as well as $ 75 billion for hospitals and $ 25 billion for National tests for coronavirus.
Schumer, during a brief debate, highlighted the funds from the bill to combat the coronavirus, as well as help for small businesses.
“We can make loans to small businesses, but if there are no customers walking the streets to enter their stores, what good is it?” Schumer said.
Congress is already working on a fifth coronavirus response bill. Schumer said it could be “similar in size” to the $ 2.3 trillion economic stimulus enacted on March 27.
With each passing week, Washington has faced a deepening crisis that has led Republicans and Democrats to work in a largely bipartisan way to ease the heavy human and economic burden of a pandemic that has affected more than 795,000 in the United States and has thrown more than 22 million people out of work.
The U.S. economy has been hit by the shutdown of businesses, and residents have observed stay-at-home orders aimed at minimizing the spread of Covid-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
While Republicans initially insisted that the latest bill provide new funding only for small businesses, Democrats managed to expand it to hospitals and other healthcare facilities and more money for coronavirus testing.
Democrats were unable to convince Republicans to increase federal emergency funds for state and local governments that are reeling from the heavy loss of revenue due to the virus and infrastructure spending that Democrats have been requesting during the crisis.
However, Trump said in a Twitter post that he would strike up talks to help state and local governments and look for ways to include infrastructure investments in the upcoming bill.
