Congress leaders reach an agreement for a federal stimulus that would include a $ 600 check

Washington dc – Congress leaders today reached an agreement on the content of the next economic stimulus project, which in the midst of the coronavirus emergency will allow to send to the overwhelming majority of citizens a federal check of at least $ 600.

The legislation, which will be put to a vote tomorrow, Monday, would also allow a federal unemployment benefit of $ 300 a week to be revised from next week, according to preliminary data.

Under the agreed language, a couple with two children, with incomes of up to $ 150,000, will receive a check for $ 2,400.

As in the Expenses Act, the federal check would be reduced to extinguishing for individuals who earned the previous year more than $ 99,000 and $ 198,000 in the case of couples. Checks will also be sent to couples in which one of the people is undocumented.

“We are going to crush the virus and put money in the pockets of American people,” said in a joint statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (California) and Senate Democratic minority leader Charles Schumer (New York). ), in confirming the agreement, which includes the White House.

Schumer had previously stated that “this is an emergency project … We need to do even more under President (Joe) Biden.”

In also announcing the deal, Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) indicated tonight that “there is more help along the way.”

To prevent a partial closure of the federal government, Congress passed a resolution tonight that extends until Monday the current spending to prevent a partial closure of federal government offices. The previous resolution expired at midnight on Sunday.

The lower house passed a new temporary budget resolution – lasting 24 hours – in a vote of 329-65, and the Senate then ratified it out loud. Trump signed the measure shortly before midnight on Sunday.

Economic stimulus legislation, which will be added to a bus with the final budget allocations for fiscal year 2021, would cost $ 900 billion. The budget bus would cost another $ 1.4 trillion.

According to the agreement reached on Sunday, federal unemployment assistance of $ 300 a week could be extended from late December to mid-March.

The measure revives the Small Business Payroll Protection (PPP) loan program, which would allow loans of up to $ 150,000 to be forgiven under certain conditions.

PPP loans would be available for companies with 300 or fewer employees, according to preliminary agreements. Non-profit institutions, and local media, radio and television, will have access to the PPP program.

The small business assistance package totals about $ 300 billion and includes $ 15 billion to include for venues offering live events, independent cinemas and cultural institutions. An amount is set aside for loans to very small businesses and to be granted by financial institutions in minority representative communities.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has indicated that business operating costs deducted to forgive a PPP loan will not be allowed to be deducted from contributory templates.

According to The Washington Post, the measure will extend by one year the deadline for state and local governments to use the funds allocated by the Cares Act.

The bill would extend the federal moratorium against housing evictions, provide assistance for housing, nutrition funds and for education systems.

According to Pelosi and Schumer, housing rental assistance funds total $ 25 billion. Meanwhile, food assistance allocations are around $ 13 billion.

The original bipartisan plan included a $ 300 million allocation in food assistance for Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. The overwhelming majority of these funds would be for Puerto Rico.

For education systems, the allocation reaches $ 82 billion. Another $ 10 billion is to fund child care programs. The legislation will also include 500,000 new beneficiaries in the Skin Scholarships and ensure that more than 1.5 million students receive the maximum benefit.

Speaker Pelosi stressed that the project also increases the benefits in the United States that offer credits for accrued income (EITC) and for dependent children (CTC), and grants loans to companies for the granting of sick leave, according to it was established by the Families Act First of last March.

The other key part of the legislation is aimed at allocating funds to boost the distribution of the vaccine and provide diagnostic tests for the coronavirus, which has killed more than 317,000 people in the United States. Schumer said the legislation provides $ 27 billion for diagnostic tests and health programs.

The project in turn allocates $ 45 billion for mass transportation systems.

The deal went ahead after Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania) softened a language Democrats felt had tied his hands to the Biden government at the time of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve offering loans for to an emergency like that of the COVID- 19.

As had been advanced, direct assistance to state and municipal governments demanding Democrats and the Republican amendment seeking to grant some federal immunity to companies operating under the coronavirus emergency has been left out of the agreement. .

Biden – who will take over the presidency on January 20 – has promised to propose another project to boost the early economy in 2021.

The federal government has been fully operational since October 1, when fiscal year 2021 began, thanks to three temporary budget resolutions. The most recent was approved on Friday and expired at the start of Monday.