After months of impasse, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress announced late Sunday that they had come to an agreement on a new coronavirus stimulus package.
It’s worth nearly $ 900 billion and offers aid for individuals, small businesses and schools. That includes a second round of direct payments to individuals.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said in a tweet late Sunday that he expected the House of Representatives to pass the relief package today as part of a larger group of bills that also would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year.
From there, the Senate must pass the package and President Donald J. Trump must sign it before it can become law.
First, though, the coronavirus stimulus package that Congress agreed to Sunday must be finalized on paper. As of this morning, it had yet to be released in final or draft form. So, all we know about the package for sure at this moment is what members of Congress have said about it since Sunday night.
Known provisions of the coronavirus stimulus package that would affect individuals include the following.
Payments to individuals
“Democrats secured a new round of direct payments worth up to $ 600 per adult and child, also ensuring that mixed-status families receive payments,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said in joint statement Sunday.
A payment of $ 600 per person would be $ 600 less than the payments for adults authorized by the federal CARES Act enacted in March, but also $ 600 more than intended initially by the package framework. Two bills drafted by the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus served as the framework for Congress’ recent negotiations, and they did not contain direct payment provisions.
“Mixed-status families” refers to households with U.S. citizens and non-citizens, The Hill reports:
“The bill will allow U.S. citizens who are in households that also include non-citizens to receive the payments. With the first round of payments, U.S. citizens married to people who do not have work-eligible Social Security numbers generally could not receive a payment if the couple filed a joint return.”
Extended unemployment benefits
The package extends pandemic unemployment assistance programs created by the CARES Act by 11 weeks, Pelosi, Schumer and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said Sunday. This includes an additional $ 300 per week in unemployment insurance benefits.
Eviction moratorium extension
For renters, the CARES Act also created a moratorium to temporarily halt evictions and late-payment fees. The new coronavirus stimulus package extends that moratorium and provides $ 25 billion for rental assistance, Pelosi and Schumer said.
They did not specify for how long the eviction moratorium would be extended. They also did not mention whether an existing foreclosure moratorium for homeowners with mortgages also would be extended.
To learn about the other provisions of the stimulus package that Congress members have mentioned, check out the Pelosi/Schumer statement and the remarks the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, made on Sunday.
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