900 billion dollar coronavirus relief bill agreed upon! Congress reached a deal on the 900 billion dollar coronavirus relief bill, a long delayed effort to boost the American healthcare system and economy wrangled over the pandemic.
Congressional leaders announced agreement on a bill earlier today. This bill will help households, small businesses, and healthcare providers for the first time in months as well as fund the government though September 30th. The text of the bill has not been released yet.
“At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor Sunday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY., called the plan “a package that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates”. They called the plan inadequate and said that they would push for more relief spending after President-Elect Joe Biden take office on January 20th, 2021.
The bill is expected to be voted upon and passed on Monday.
Congress also voted and approved a one-day spending measure to keep the lights on until 12:01 am ET Tuesday – the senate aims to approve it before midnight.
This bill comes after months of tit for tat on Capitol Hill over how best to fight this once-in-a-century crisis. Democrats moved quickly to pass trillions of dollars in assistance after 2 months of passing the $2 trillion CARES Act in March. The GOP downplayed the need for more aid, and then countered with a limited approach deal than Democrats offered.
This new bill could not have come at a more dire moment for millions of Americans. They’ve tried to scrape together enough money to afford food and housing during sustained public health restrictions, some of which are being re-implemented in some cities and states.
“The American people have a great deal to celebrate in this legislation. But of course, the agreement we reached is far from perfect,” Schumer said on Sunday.
The bill includes $600 dollars to most adults and $600 per child. The Democrats said it would put $284 billion into the popular Paycheck Protection Program small business loans, and include funds for small and minority-owned lenders. $20 billion has been set aside for small business grants, and $15 billion for live event venues, who have been battered due to Covid-19 health restrictions.
The bill also adds $300 federal unemployment supplements, and temporarily keeps in place pandemic-era programs that expanded unemployment insurance eligibility.
The bill also funds the distribution of the two FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccines in the amount of $30 billion. Health care workers and top government officials have started to receive the shots, and the hopeful inoculations in the coming months should help the world emerge from Covid-19’s shadow.
The deal comes following a last-second fight over a Republican backed provision that would have restricted the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending powers.
As lawmakers have reached a deal, this deal is too late for nearly 8 million Americans who are estimated to have fallen into poverty since June.
Progressives and some republicans have pushed for larger and consistent direct payments, as well as retroactive federal unemployment payments. With this in mind, Schumer stressed that democrats would push for more relief. Not mentioned was their ability to do so hinges upon the two Georgia Senate Runoffs slated for January 5th, which will determine whether or not the GOP maintains control of the upper chamber.
What do you think? Let us know on our Facebook page!
