Senate passes historic $2 trillion stimulus bill that includes $1,200 payments to individuals; plan now heads to the House
House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., announced that the House will vote on the $2 trillion bill Friday, and that they will convene at 9 a.m.Among the provisions offered in the measure are one-time $1,200 checks to individuals, $367 billion in loans and grants to small businesses, over $130 billion for hospitals and community health centers and financial help to airlines and other industries hit hard by the virus.
Republican senators speaking on the floor Wednesday night said they are “for this bill” but that the provision can create a “Pandora’s box for our economy.” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear complained Tuesday that his state had been in line to buy protective equipment from a private vendor but that the Federal Emergency Management Agency swooped in and bought the materials instead. Beshear said that is complicating the states’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Exceptions will be made for medical purposes and for those aboard ships that are deployed for 14 days. In addition, it will not affect the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Health experts have warned why it may block the spread of some germs, DIY masks are not designed to block the spread of the coronavirus. But health care workers continue to report a dire shortage of personal protective equipment, including masks, hospital gowns and respirators as they continue to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19.
While a “large number” of House members want to vote in person, she said, not everyone will be able to. House leadership on both sides of the aisle have been talking with members throughout the day to go over the details of the bill, hoping to allow easy passage of the historic bill.Trump: 'I didn't have a big problem' with Kennedy Center funding
Mnuchin declined to comment on criticism from several senators, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of Trump’s, that a $600 boost in unemployment benefits included in the bill could allow people to make more money with unemployment insurance than they would in their current job, incentivizing them not to work. Graham had earlier in the day said he hoped the provision was a “drafting error.
A Republican Senate aide said the $600 figure was a compromise between getting the assistance out quickly and trying to make up the difference between average wages and average weekly unemployment benefits. While Sanders’ threat appeared to be an attempt to halt further objections and get the bill quickly passed in the chamber, it does not appear to have worked.
Senate negotiators released the broad takeaways on the bill’s tax, health, and education policy items, which includes offering checks to Americans, bolstering unemployment insurance, and allowing students to defer loan payments. Provides permanent liability protection for manufacturers of personal respiratory protective equipment, such as masks and respirators, in the event of a public health emergency, to incentivize production and distribution.
More than $25 billion for food stamps and other food assistance programs and $9.5 billion to the Department of Agriculture to support agricultural producers. $11 billion for vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other medical needs which will be spread among several agencies to help discover a cure and treatment options for the virus .$45 billion in disaster fund relief for “the immediate needs” of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. Another $31 billion to help states keep schools and colleges open and operating on-line.
Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Rick Scott of Florida, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the proposed $600 boost in unemployment benefits could “actually incentivize the severing of the employee-employer relationship." Graham said he hoped the Senate would amend the provision to prevent people from making more money from unemployment benefits than they would in their current job.Senate Democrats had touted the unemployment insurance provisions of the bill. Earlier Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called them “unemployment insurance on steroids.”U.S. doctors push State Dept. to expedite visas for foreign physicians seeking U.S.
The AMA said if those services don’t restart soon, it could exacerbate the stress on the U.S. health care system.
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