The latest competing Covid-19 relief proposals in Congress, explained.
A bipartisan group of senators and members of the House unveiled a new $908 billion plan for emergency Covid-19 relief funding on Tuesday to extend unemployment benefits and small business loans. The proposal comes after months of stalemate on stimulus talks, and during a critical time in the Covid-19 crisis. About 14 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits will see those programs expire at the end of the month unless Congress takes action, and cities and states around the country are also facing massive budget shortfalls. The plan, spearheaded by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and also supported by the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, is designed to be a short-term extension of federal aid heading into a winter where Covid-19 cases are spiking again and unemployment claims are ticking up. The funding would extend benefits until April 1, around when many public health experts expect widespread distribution of a vaccine to be underway. “This is going to get us through the most difficult times,” Manchin said at a Tuesday press conference announcing the framework. The question going forward is whether the plan can garner the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Multiple Senate votes for a “skinny” $500 billion stimulus bill backed by McConnell and Republicans have failed, with no Democratic support. House Democrats, meanwhile, most recently passed a revised $2.2 trillion version of their HEROES Act in October. “We have not had assurances from them on that for a vote, but I think the American people will put [on] the pressure,” Manchin told reporters. “We’re determined not to go home until we do something, so it’s up to them to work with us. We want to work with them.” No new coronavirus aid package is going to get through the Senate without bipartisan support, so the new plan is a signal that Republicans and Democrats are indeed talking. Lawmakers supporting the plan emphasized on Tuesday that while each party is not going to get exactly what they want, their framework contains key points of agreement. McConnell is circulating his own proposal among Senate Republicans, after he and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met with White House officials on Tuesday to suss out what President Donald Trump wants to come out of a coronavirus relief deal.
