The Senate on Tuesday approved roughly $484 billion in new coronavirus aid for small businesses and hospitals and more funding for testing, ending a lengthy battle over the size and contents of the package.
The agreement was passed by a voice vote after days of negotiations between congressional Democrats and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, with the talks lasting until approximately midnight on both Sunday and Monday.
The deal includes an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including $60 billion specifically for community banks and smaller lenders, as well as $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for testing, and $60 billion for emergency disaster loans and grants, according to a summary obtained by The Hill.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the only senator who has been infected with the coronavirus, said shortly before its passage that he opposed the funding, but would not block its passage and require his colleagues to come back to Washington for a formal roll call vote.
"The virus bailouts have already cost over $2 trillion. Our annual deficit this year will approach $4 trillion. We can't continue on this course. No amount of bailout dollars will stimulate an economy that is being strangled by quarantine," Paul said from the Senate floor on Tuesday.
Lawmakers are under pressure to act quickly as the coronavirus decimates large sectors of the economy where businesses have either scaled back or closer altogether.
Forty-three percent of respondents to a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday said they have had their wages cut or lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Senate’s passage came only hours after a senior administration official confirmed the agreement had been reached and less than two hours after text of the bill began to circulate as leadership tried to “hotline” the deal to find out if it could pass it by consent, which would allow it to avoid bringing back members amid health concerns sparked by the coronavirus.
read more here: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/493959-senate-passes-484b-coronavirus-relief-package?rnd=1587503290
Replies