WASHINGTON (AP) – After months of stalemate in Washington, Congress will vote on a $ 900 billion pandemic relief package, finally bringing long-sought cash to businesses and individuals, as well as resources to vaccinate a country facing a terrifying rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Lawmakers pulled in thousands of pages of other cases at the end of the session in a burst of legislation as Capitol Hill will close for the year.
The aid package, agreed on Sunday and finally released in bill on Monday afternoon, remained on track for votes in Congress on Monday. It would introduce a temporary supplemental unemployment benefit of $ 300 a week and an immediate incentive payment of $ 600 for most Americans, along with a new round of grants for hard-hit businesses and money for schools, health care providers and tenants that are being evicted.
The 5,593-page legislation – the longest bill in memory and probably ever – met on Sunday after months of strife, postponement, and post-election negotiations that curbed a number of democratic demands as the congressional rally drew to a close. President-elect Joe Biden was eager to strike a deal to bring long-awaited relief to those suffering and boost the economy, even if it was less than half the size of Democrats in the fall.
Biden praised the dual spirit that produced the beat, which he called “just the beginning.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a key negotiator, said on CNBC Monday morning that direct payments would hit bank accounts next week.
Democrats recognized that it was not as robust a aid package as they initially sought – or, they say, the country needs. House speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to come even more when Biden takes office.
“It’s a first step,” she said. “We have to do more.”
The final agreement would be the largest spending measure to date. It combined $ 900 billion for COVID-19 aid with a $ 1.4 trillion government funding plan and a host of other unrelated tax, health, infrastructure, and education measures. The government-wide funding would keep the government open through September.
Passage approached as coronavirus cases and deaths increased and evidence was mounting that the economy was struggling. Months of dysfunction and bad faith held up the legislation. But talks got serious in recent days as lawmakers on both sides finally hit the gig deadline before leaving Washington for Christmas.
The final bill bore a lot of resemblance to a $ 1 trillion summer package put together by Senate Republican leaders that failed to thrill many GOP senators. As talks stalled, Republicans pulled back to a smaller $ 500 billion position, with no direct payments, supplemental unemployment benefits, and food aid, among other priorities.
The negotiations only got serious in recent weeks because failure was no longer an option and time was running out.
In direct payments, the bill pays $ 600 to individuals earning up to $ 75,000 per year and $ 1,200 to couples earning $ 150,000, with payments being phased out for higher incomes. An additional $ 600 will be paid per dependent child, similar to the last round of relief payments in the spring.
The $ 300 per week unemployment benefit was half of the $ 1.8 billion supplemental federal unemployment benefit under the CARES Act in March and would be limited to 11 weeks instead of 16 weeks. The $ 600 direct incentive payment was also half of the March payment, subject to the same income limits in which a person’s payment gradually expires after $ 75,000.
The CARES law was credited with keeping the economy from falling off a cliff during widespread spring lockdowns, but Senate-controlled Republicans cited debt problems in countering Democratic demands.
Progress came after a bipartisan group of pragmatists and moderates devised a $ 908 billion plan that built a middle position that the top four leaders of Congress – the GOP and the Democratic leaders of both the House and Senate – used as the basis for their talks. Lawmakers urged leaders on both sides to pull out of the hardline.
Republicans most planned to revive the Paycheck Protection Program with $ 284 billion, which would cover a second round of PPP grants to particularly hard-hit companies. Democrats won stand by for low-income and minority communities.
Following the announcement, Schumer and Pelosi, D-California, announced additional details, including $ 25 billion in rental aid, $ 15 billion for theaters and other live venues, $ 82 billion for local schools, colleges, and universities, and $ 10 billion for Day-care.
The government credits bill would likely provide a final $ 1.4 billion installment for the US-Mexico border wall as a condition of getting his signature.
The bill was a driving force to carry out much of Capitol Hill’s unfinished business, including a nearly 400-page water resources bill that aims at $ 10 billion for 46 Army Corps of Engineers flood control, environmental, and coastal defense projects. Another addition would extend a series of tax breaks that are about to expire, such as one for craft brewers, wineries, and distillers.
It would also include plenty of clean energy facilities, $ 7 billion to increase broadband access, $ 4 billion to help other countries vaccinate their people, $ 14 billion to lack funding for transit systems, Amtrak, and airports.
Democrats have failed a months-long battle to provide immediate tax relief to states and local governments, but they have successfully pushed for $ 22 billion to help states and local governments with COVID-19-related health expenditures such as testing and vaccines.
The rush at the end of the session also promised relief for victims of shockingly high medical surprise bills, a phenomenon common when providers drop out of insurance company networks.