Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed the Republican coronavirus relief plan Monday.
Here’s what we know about the bill, as Republican leaders gradually release the details:
- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said he would establish federal unemployment insurance improved to 70% of a worker’s previous wages, replacing the $ 600 per week that states stopped paying this week. . Reports earlier in the day indicated that the Republican Party would set the benefit at $ 200 a week, while states can figure out how to implement the new policy, cutting back on what beneficiaries currently receive.
- The proposal would send direct payments of $ 1,200 and $ 2,400 to individuals and couples, respectively. It would set the same scores as checks approved in March: Payments began to drop to an average of $ 75,000 in income per person, and people or couples earning an average of $ 99,000 or more did not receive one. It would offer an additional $ 500 per dependent of any age.
- It would allow small businesses that have seen their income drop by more than 50% to apply for a second loan from the Paycheck Protection Program.
- The bill provides $ 105 billion to help schools reopen in the fall.
- Includes $ 16 billion to help states increase Covid-19 testing capacity.
McConnell of Kentucky and fellow Republicans unveiled the measure as Congress rushes to respond to a pandemic that is still wreaking havoc across the country. Republican committee chairs outlined major parts of the legislation they hope will serve as a starting point in talks with Democrats about a bill that could pass to both houses of Congress.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., plan to meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff. Mark Meadows at 6 pm ET. In a statement the previous Monday, the speaker called to start negotiations after the publication of the Republican plan.
“If Republicans care about working families, this will not take long. Time is running out. Congress cannot go home without a deal,” Pelosi said, referring to the recess planned by lawmakers in August.
McConnell, outlining the plan on Monday, urged Democrats to quickly reach an agreement.
“The pandemic is not over. The economic pain is not over. Therefore, Congress cannot end either,” he said.
The Republican Party hoped to launch a pandemic aid plan last week, but senators and the White House struggled to reach consensus as Covid-19 cases and deaths increase across the country. Democrats, who approved a $ 3 trillion relief plan in May, will seek to change many provisions in the Republican opening offer.
For now, the roughly 30 million people still receiving some form of unemployment insurance are waiting to see how quickly Congress will extend assistance, and whether it will cut benefits when it does. Speaking after McConnell unveiled the plan, Schumer said the Republican proposal for unemployment benefits would harm unemployed Americans, take money out of the economy, and be discouraging for states to implement it.
“The Republican proposal on unemployment benefits is simply not feasible,” he said.
Republicans and Democrats disagree over the best way to build an American economy and a health care system damaged by an outbreak that the United States could not contain. As of Monday afternoon, the US had reported more than 4.2 million cases of Covid-19 and approximately 147,000 deaths from the disease, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States had an unemployment rate of over 11% in June, even after two strong months of state-led job gains that reopened their economies. But many states have had to pause or reverse their restart plans in response to spikes in coronavirus cases.
Congress has already approved more than $ 2.5 trillion in spending this year to combat health and economic crises.
This story is unfolding. Please check for updates.
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