The White House and Senate leaders reached a deal early Wednesday morning on a $2 trillion stimulus bill to help the economy amid the coroanvirus pandemic, CNN reports.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are done," White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland told reporters around 1 am after days of extensive negotiations. "We have a deal."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that “days of intense discussions” led to a “bipartisan agreement on a historic relief package for this pandemic."
McConnell described the bill as a “war-time level of investment for our nation” and vowed to pass it on Wednesday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it the “largest rescue package in American history.”
“This is not a moment of celebration -- but of necessity," he said.
What’s in the bill?
The bill includes direct payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child for single-filers earning up to $75,000 or couples earning up to $150,000.
The bill also includes a $500 bailout fund to help companies hit hard by the coronavirus.
The bill also adds $250 billion in additional unemployment benefits, $350 billion in small business loans, and more than $200 billion to help hospitals and states.
Will House Democrats approve?:
The bill is expected to clear the Senate and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats would review the bill.
“America is facing a grave health crisis with a serious impact on our economy. I salute the strong leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats,” Pelosi said in a statement, calling the original Republican bill a “non-starter.”
“This bipartisan legislation takes us a long way down the road in meeting the needs of the American people,” Pelosi said, adding that the new bill “does not go as far” as the House proposal but “due to the unity and insistence of Senate and House Democrats, the bill has moved a great deal closer to America’s workers.”
