Senators unveil $748 billion COVID relief proposal. What it could mean for you
A group of senators has introduced two stimulus bills that would provide unemployment benefits to Americans for months but doesn’t include $1,200 payments to Americans.
The $748 billion bill, which has bipartisan support, would give $300 in weekly unemployment insurance for four months, but does not include liability protections for businesses and funding for state and local aid, components that have emerged as points of contention among lawmakers.
Those measures are included in the $160 billion bill, which is sponsored by Republicans and is only supported by one Democrat, Sen. Joe Machin of West Virginia.
Neither bill — both were unveiled Monday — includes $1,200 direct payments for Americans, a provision that was excluded to reduce the cost of the bill in order to get Republicans on board, according to Vox.
Sen. John Hawley, a Missouri Republican, introduced a standalone bill for stimulus checks on Dec. 10 and said he wouldn’t support a proposal without direct payments, McClatchy News previously reported.
Congress is racing to pass a government spending package by Dec. 18 to avoid a potential shutdown.
“We will not go home for Christmas until we pass relief that goes to the American people,” Manchin said Monday, according to Vox.
The bills also come after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled last week that Republicans weren’t likely to support a stimulus plan without changes, The New York Times reported. McConnell’s advisers said that Republicans thought the protections for businesses were “too limited” and didn’t support the funding for local and state governments in a $908 billion package introduced by a bipartisan group of senators earlier this month, according to the publication.
McConnell said on Nov. 30 that there’s “no reason” why Congress can’t pass another package by the end of the year and suggested Democrats drop funding for local and state governments in exchange for Republicans setting aside liability protections for businesses.
Democrats balked at the idea as governments have suffered hundreds of billions in losses during the pandemic, The New York Times reported. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused McConnell of “sabotaging good-faith bipartisan negotiations.”
A look at the 2 bills
The $748 billion bill includes:
- $300 weekly unemployment payments for 16 weeks and expansion of unemployment insurance programs
- $300 billion in aid for small businesses, including the Paycheck Protection Program, which allows businesses to apply for coverage for payroll and operational costs
- $25 billion in emergency rental assistance and a federal eviction moratorium through January 2021
$13 billion in food aid, increased SNAP benefits, and funding for food pantries and food banks
Deferred federal student loan payments through Apr. 1, 2021
$12 billion in emergency aid to minority and low-income communities to deal with the economic effects of the pandemic
$82 billion in aid for education
$16 billion for vaccine distribution and development, testing and contact tracing
$10 billion in funding for child care providers
The $160 billion bill includes:
- $160 billion in aid for state, local and tribal governments
- Liability protections to shield businesses from the legal fallout during the pandemic, including a “nationwide gross negligence standard” for coronavirus exposure, claims of workplace testing and medical malpractice
Negotiating a relief package
Democrats, Republicans and the White House have tried but failed to negotiate a followup package to the CARES Act, which was passed in March and provided $1,200 payments for individuals who made up to $75,000.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin presented the White House’s $916 billion proposal last week to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California. The plan includes funding for local and state governments and liability protections for businesses. It also would provide a round of $600 stimulus payments to Americans plus an additional $600 per child, according to House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who reviewed the proposal, Bloomberg News reported.
The White House offer would get rid of the weekly $300 unemployment aid included in the $748 billion bipartisan plan, The Associated Press reported.
Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement that cutting the unemployment benefits was “unacceptable.”
“While it is progress that Leader McConnell has signed off on a $916 billion offer that is based off of the bipartisan framework, the president’s proposal must not be allowed to obstruct the bipartisan Congressional talks that are underway,” the statement said.
“Members of the House and Senate have been engaged in good-faith negotiations and continue to make progress,” the statement says. “The bipartisan talks are the best hope for a bipartisan solution.”
President-elect Joe Biden had said he would support legislation similar to the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill passed by House Democrats in May that failed to be voted on in the Senate, according to CNBC. A $2.2 trillion updated version of the aid package was unveiled in September.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans introduced their own version of a $1 trillion second stimulus package, called the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, in July.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Senators unveil $748 billion COVID relief proposal. What it could mean for you."