Lawmakers representing both parties and both houses of Congress introduced a $908 billion plan for emergency relief of the U.S. economy, which has been staggered by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The proposal, unveiled Tuesday, “comes as cases are climbing across the country and Congress is running out of time to clinch a long-stalled fifth relief bill with lawmakers scheduled to leave for the year as soon as next week,” says The Hill.
It would provide $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits for four months, just half of the amount Democrats have sought, “while still offering substantial relief to tens of millions of jobless Americans,” the Washington Post reports.
“Lawmakers acknowledged that their proposal was likely to not please factions on both sides of the aisle, but offered it as a compromise that could break the … long stalemate” before the House and Senate adjourn until January, The Hill says.
“It would be stupidity on steroids if Congress left for Christmas without doing an interim package,” said one member of the group, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).
The plan includes $160 billion for state and local governments, a key Democratic priority opposed by most Republicans, and “a temporary moratorium on some coronavirus-related lawsuits against firms and other entities — a key Republican priority that most Democrats oppose,” the Post says.
It also includes money for small businesses, schools, health care, transit authorities, student loans and Covid testing.
“Economists have warned of devastating consequences for the economy and millions of Americans if no stimulus deal is passed,” the Post says. “A number of relief programs are set to expire at the end of the year,” leaving 12 million unemployed Americans without federal jobless benefits. Protections for renters and student borrowers are also set to expire.
Yet it’s unclear if there is enough support in the deeply divided Congress to get the bill passed.
It “faces a steep uphill climb as party leaders remain far apart on the price tag and details,” says NBC News. “Democratic leadership continues to push for a $2.2 trillion relief package. Republican leadership is pushing for a $500 billion package that has faltered in the Senate amid a lack of bipartisan support.”
And no one seems to know what President Trump might do if the new plan is passed.
“I don’t have any prediction how the White House would react,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said at a news conference announcing the proposal. “Covid has created a crisis. And in the crisis the people expect Congress to act.”
