WASHINGTON: U.S. Congressional leaders reached an agreement on a $ 900 billion package to provide the first new aid in months to an economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the top Senate Republican and Democrat said Sunday, but It was unclear when Congress would vote to seal the deal.
“At last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in the Senate floor.
The package would be the second-largest economic stimulus in US history, following a $ 2.3 trillion aid bill passed in March. The deal comes as the pandemic accelerates and infects more than 214,000 people in the country every day. More than 317,000 Americans have already died.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the package should have enough support to pass both houses of Congress.
“Finally, we have good news to deliver to the American people,” he said in the Senate.
The package would give $ 600 in direct payments to individuals, increase unemployment payments by $ 300 per week, and provide hundreds of billions of dollars in additional help to small businesses. It would also provide $ 25 billion for rental assistance, sources said.
Lawmakers said they had resolved disputes over the Federal Reserve’s pandemic lending authority, education financing and small business loans. “I think for the most part it is resolved,” Republican Sen. John Thune told reporters.
Congress aims to include the coronavirus relief package in a $ 1.4 trillion spending bill that funds government programs through September 2021.
Lawmakers said there may not be enough time to pass the measures before government funding expires at midnight Sunday (0500 GMT Monday), meaning they would have to pass another temporary extension to keep the government running. .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House’s top Democrat, told reporters Sunday that she wanted to give members some time to review the package before calling a vote.
The bill leaves out two of the most contentious elements in the negotiations: the legal protections for companies from coronavirus lawsuits, which had been requested by Republicans, and the substantial aid for state and local governments championed by the democrats.
Sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the deal was expected to give US airlines $ 15 billion in new payroll assistance that will allow them to return more than 32,000 workers to their payrolls through March 31.
It would also include $ 1 billion for the Amtrak passenger rail, $ 14 billion for public transportation systems and $ 10 billion for state highways, one of the sources said. Another $ 3.2 billion would help provide broadband Internet access for low-income Americans.
Wait for votes?
The bill would have to pass the Democratic-led House of Representatives before the Republican-controlled Senate could take over. If passed, it would go to President Donald Trump to make it law.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn said lawmakers may not be able to vote on the deal before midnight.
“I think it’s iffy I guess,” he said.
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, had insisted on language that would ensure that the Federal Reserve could not reactivate emergency loan programs for small businesses and state and local governments after they expire on Dec. 31.
Republicans had called the programs unnecessary government interference in private enterprise.
Democrats, in turn, accused Republicans of trying to limit Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s options to boost the failing economy after he takes office on January 20.
The pandemic will be presented as the biggest crisis facing the new Biden administration, although signs of hope have emerged as the United States has begun vaccinating people against the disease.
The two parties agreed on language that would not allow the exact program currently in force to be renewed, but did not block the creation of similar programs.
In the 11 months since the first cases of the new coronavirus were documented in the United States, COVID-19 has put millions of Americans out of work and unemployment is rising. Economists say growth will likely remain slow until vaccines become widely available in mid-2021.
“At last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in the Senate floor.
The package would be the second-largest economic stimulus in US history, following a $ 2.3 trillion aid bill passed in March. The deal comes as the pandemic accelerates and infects more than 214,000 people in the country every day. More than 317,000 Americans have already died.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the package should have enough support to pass both houses of Congress.
“Finally, we have good news to deliver to the American people,” he said in the Senate.
The package would give $ 600 in direct payments to individuals, increase unemployment payments by $ 300 per week, and provide hundreds of billions of dollars in additional help to small businesses. It would also provide $ 25 billion for rental assistance, sources said.
Lawmakers said they had resolved disputes over the Federal Reserve’s pandemic lending authority, education financing and small business loans. “I think for the most part it is resolved,” Republican Sen. John Thune told reporters.
Congress aims to include the coronavirus relief package in a $ 1.4 trillion spending bill that funds government programs through September 2021.
Lawmakers said there may not be enough time to pass the measures before government funding expires at midnight Sunday (0500 GMT Monday), meaning they would have to pass another temporary extension to keep the government running. .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House’s top Democrat, told reporters Sunday that she wanted to give members some time to review the package before calling a vote.
The bill leaves out two of the most contentious elements in the negotiations: the legal protections for companies from coronavirus lawsuits, which had been requested by Republicans, and the substantial aid for state and local governments championed by the democrats.
Sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the deal was expected to give US airlines $ 15 billion in new payroll assistance that will allow them to return more than 32,000 workers to their payrolls through March 31.
It would also include $ 1 billion for the Amtrak passenger rail, $ 14 billion for public transportation systems and $ 10 billion for state highways, one of the sources said. Another $ 3.2 billion would help provide broadband Internet access for low-income Americans.
Wait for votes?
The bill would have to pass the Democratic-led House of Representatives before the Republican-controlled Senate could take over. If passed, it would go to President Donald Trump to make it law.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn said lawmakers may not be able to vote on the deal before midnight.
“I think it’s iffy I guess,” he said.
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, had insisted on language that would ensure that the Federal Reserve could not reactivate emergency loan programs for small businesses and state and local governments after they expire on Dec. 31.
Republicans had called the programs unnecessary government interference in private enterprise.
Democrats, in turn, accused Republicans of trying to limit Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s options to boost the failing economy after he takes office on January 20.
The pandemic will be presented as the biggest crisis facing the new Biden administration, although signs of hope have emerged as the United States has begun vaccinating people against the disease.
The two parties agreed on language that would not allow the exact program currently in force to be renewed, but did not block the creation of similar programs.
In the 11 months since the first cases of the new coronavirus were documented in the United States, COVID-19 has put millions of Americans out of work and unemployment is rising. Economists say growth will likely remain slow until vaccines become widely available in mid-2021.
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