On December 1st, a bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a $908 billion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief proposal. The proposal would provide $160 billion for states and local governments “of all sizes,” $180 billion for unemployment insurance, and $288 billion for more small business assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program. The unemployment benefits would break down to $300 a week for 18 weeks, retroactive to December 1st. It also includes assistance for transportation-related industries, $16 billion for vaccine development and distribution and more money for schools, childcare and the U.S. Postal Service. The proposal would also provide a short-term liability protection from COVID-19-related lawsuits until states could come up with their own protections.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) also circulated a new coronavirus relief proposal on December 1st that he claims could garner support from the White House and Senate Republicans. Senator McConnell noted that he has been speaking with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about what President Trump would be willing to sign. Senator McConnell has twice previously offered a roughly $500 billion COVID-19 relief bill that was rejected by Democrats. The price tag for this newest proposal looks to be around the same amount, but Senator McConnell has yet to provide details of any substantive differences between that and the new bill.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said the $908 billion bipartisan COVID-19 relief proposal offered on Tuesday should serve as a basis for immediate negotiations. “We and others will offer improvements, but the need to act is immediate and we believe that with good faith negotiations we could come to an agreement,” the pair stated.