Washington – Congressional leaders are approaching an agreement on a coronavirus relief package that would include another round of direct payments to Americans, just days before the deadline to expand government funding and with aid programs critics that will expire at the end of the month.
A source familiar with the negotiations told CBS News that the emerging deal would cost about $ 900 billion, with controversial provisions on funding for state and local governments and corporate liability protections.
The agreement would include two popular provisions that were part of the CARES Act passed in the spring: direct checks to Americans with a salary below a certain threshold and a weekly benefit in addition to unemployment insurance. It is not clear how much money would be included in the checks or what the final amount of the unemployment benefit would be.
Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Speaker Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met for hours on Tuesday in the evening to reach an agreement, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the phone.
Schumer told reporters Wednesday that negotiators are “very close” to a deal.
“We’re very close. We’re moving really well. We feel pretty good,” Schumer said.
The framework negotiated by these leaders is largely based on a $ 748 billion proposal introduced by a bipartisan and bicameral group of legislators. The proposal included an additional $ 300 a week in addition to unemployment insurance, significantly less than the $ 600 a week set by the CARES Act, which expired in late July.
That group had also introduced a $ 160 billion proposal that included funding for state and local governments, which is critical for Democrats, and liability protections for businesses and institutions, a priority for McConnell. But it now seems likely the four congressional leaders will agree to a second round of stimulus checks and other aid without addressing state and local funding and liability protections. The source familiar with the negotiations said aid for state and local governments would be available through “other avenues” in a final bill.
McConnell obtained an optimistic tone that allowed an agreement to be reached in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday morning.
“We made a lot of progress in launching a specific pandemic relief package that would be able to pass both houses with bipartisan majorities,” the Republican leader said. “We pledge to continue these urgent discussions until we reach an agreement. And we agreed that we will not leave the city until we have passed the law.”
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the main negotiators for the bipartisan bill, told CBS News on Wednesday that he expected direct checks to go up to $ 600 to keep the bill price at about $ 900 billion. Manchin also noted that unemployment benefits would only last 16 weeks and said negotiations should continue when Congress meets again in January.
“They can go back to January when Joe Biden becomes president, take a look at the emergency needs we still have. It’s an emergency bill, it’s not the end of everything, be all of you,” said Manchin.
The bill is expected to adhere to an omnibus spending bill, which must be passed before government funding expires this Friday. Legislation must also be signed by President Trump before midnight Dec. 18 to prevent a shutdown.
Nancy Cordes, Alan He and John Nolen contributed the information.