Millions of Americans will soon be getting some badly needed help paying their bills, after Congress finally agreed on a $900 billion economic stimulus package.
“Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin … said millions of Americans could begin seeing stimulus payments as soon as next week,” the Washington Post reported.
Final passage in both the House and Senate was expected Monday, after details of the measure’s language were worked out.
“The government’s current funding expires at midnight, putting lawmakers on the clock to finish drafting the legislative text of the final coronavirus-relief agreement and pass it,” said the Wall Street Journal.
The Covid-related stimulus is actually just part of a $2.3 trillion package, one of the biggest pieces of legislation in U.S. history: nearly 5,600 pages long, it includes $1.4 trillion to fund the federal government through September 2021, plus other items.
“This is a large bill and it has a little bit of everything for everybody,” Mnuchin said.
The deal provides a new round of cash — $600 checks — for each adult and child in American families; abut 80% of all Americans received $1,200 checks earlier this year.
The package adds $300 per week in additional jobless benefits for the unemployed for 11 weeks and more than $300 billion in relief for small businesses.
It also contains more than $50 billion for distributing and tracing the new Covid vaccines and directs $10 billion to help the struggling U.S. Postal Service, Axios reports, citing “legistlative aides familiar with the text.”
The mammoth package even includes another $1.4 billion for President Trump’s border wall.
“Leaders have said the bill has strong, bipartisan support in both chambers,” the Journal reports, and Trump is expected to sign it.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the deal from the Senate floor on Sunday evening.
“For the information of all senators and more importantly for the American people, we can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time: More help is on the way,” McConnell said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the minority leader, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) confirmed the deal in a joint statement, The Hill reported.
“We’ll put money in the pockets of everyday people,” Schumer said earlier, adding that while the package is desperately needed, “it is not sufficient.”
President-elect Joe Biden welcomed the deal, but said in a Sunday statement that “this action in the lame duck session is just the beginning. Our work is far from over.”
