Congress has come to an agreement on a new coronavirus stimulus deal.
The deal is an approximated $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package.
In announcing the agreement for a relief bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “There will be another major rescue package for the American people. It is packed with targeted policies to help struggling Americans who have already waited too long.”
The agreement announced by Senate leaders Sunday will establish a temporary $300 per week in unemployment benefits and a $600 stimulus payment to most Americans. The unemployment benefits will last for 10 weeks.
It also includes subsidies for businesses hit hard by the pandemic, and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction. The package allows $300 billion in small business relief. It also includes vaccine distribution funds, the Postal Service and people needing food aid.
The new agreement is the largest spending measure during the pandemic, as it combines COVID-19 relief, a 1.4 trillion dollar government-wide funding plan and other unrelated measures on taxes, health, infrastructure and education.
In the meantime, with a government shutdown deadline looming at midnight Sunday, lawmakers faced the reality of needing to enact another temporary spending bill, the second in as many days, to avert a shutdown of non-essential activities by federal agencies on Monday.
