Here’s what we know about the frontrunner bills.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Under pressure to approve more economic aid before the end of the year, Congress is looking to a bipartisan $908 billion economic relief proposal to break a negotiations logjam that stretches back to spring. President-elect Joe Biden has rallied behind the package, urging Congress to support a compromise deal that delivers more financial aid before the end of the year, including for a handful of benefits set to expire.
The bipartisan effort seeks a middle ground between a $500 million Senate Republican proposal and the $2.2 trillion Heroes Act that House Democrats have been pushing since summer.
The new proposal is designed to serve as a “short-term emergency-relief package to get us through the first months, through a very tough winter, into the new administration,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democratic member of the bipartisan group crafting the proposal, on NBC’s Meet the Press on Monday. The proposal would leave out sending Americans a second stimulus check, however.
A vocal group of Democrats and at least one Republican have said they won’t support the bill without a direct payment to individuals and families. The bipartisan group is expected to release its bill early this week.
On Dec. 3, Democratic leader and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the compromise rescue plan should be folded into a 2021 budget deal. The current budget expires on Dec. 11, but Congress is expected to pass a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown so it can continue working on the budget into next week.
While neither Republicans or Democrats think the $908 billion plan is without its flaws, it may represent the best chance Congress has to pass a more help in 2020 before it can consider a larger package in 2021 — possibly one that does include a $1,200 stimulus check.
“The Heroes Act that the House passed, that’s what I would support,” Biden said during a press conference on Friday. “But this is a democracy, and you’ve got to find the sweet spot where you have enough people willing to move in a direction that gets us a long way down the road but isn’t the whole answer.”
Let’s take a look at the major categories of funding that the new compromise proposal may cover. We update this story with new details.
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Next stimulus checks: What to expect
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More federal unemployment benefits
The CARES Act passed in March gave $600 per week to unemployed workers, on top of their usual unemployment check. When this funding lapsed at the end of July, President Donald Trump signed an executive action to pay a $300 per week bonus. That money will run out by Dec. 31.
The bipartisan proposal — created by more than a dozen members of the House and Senate — would provide $300 per week in additional federal unemployment benefits for four months. White House economics reporter Jeff Stein of the Washington Post reported the bipartisan group could make the payments retroactive for missed months.
Extended Payroll Protection Program to help pay employees
The Payroll Protection Program initially provided forgivable loans to small businesses to help cover worker wages and help keep employees on the books, instead of laying them off.
The new bipartisan proposal would add about $300 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses. According to the Washington Post, the bill would target aid for businesses especially hard hit by closures, including restaurants.
Renewal of renter protections from evictions
The CARES Act established a nationwide ban on evictions for renters who were late on rent. When that was set to expire, Trump extended the ban — but that extension, too, is set to expire at the end of the year.
According to the Washington Post, the new bipartisan proposal would guard against evictions through “rental assistance funding”by providing financial aid for landlords.
Both sides are weighing the options for an eventual stimulus package.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Funding for health care and coronavirus vaccinations
With the US poised to release the first wave of coronavirus vaccines as soon as this month, the proposals turn toward funding distribution of the vaccine.
“On COVID relief, we acknowledged the recent positive developments on vaccine development and the belief that it is essential to significantly fund distribution efforts to get us from vaccine to vaccination,” Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday.
The bipartisan proposal would provide $16 billion for vaccine distribution, along with funding coronavirus testing and contact tracing efforts.
Read more: What to know about the COVID-19 vaccine’s timeline, hidden costs and more
Liability protection from COVID-19 lawsuits
A major sticking point, Republican legislators have supported limiting COVID-19 liability, which is designed to curtail lawsuits against businesses, schools, hospitals and other organizations from people who said these institutions caused them to acquire the coronavirus, except for instances of gross negligence. Democrats have balked at the plan.
The bipartisan plan sets a six-month moratorium on some coronavirus-related lawsuits against organizations, giving states enough time to create their own liability protections, the senators said.
Money for schools and childcare
Funding for education has been a part of proposals for more economic assistance going back to May. The bipartisan plan would set aside $82 billion for education and $10 billion for child care.
State and local aid
The proposal would include $160 billion for state and local aid, funding Democrats have supported since this summer. Republicans have resisted.
No additional stimulus check until 2021?
The bipartisan bill would leave out a second economic stimulus check to keep the overall cost of the bill down. The IRS said as of this summer the cost of the first round of payments hit $270 billion.
Biden on Friday said, “It would be better if they have the $1,200.” After he’s sworn in as president on Jan. 20, a Biden administration could seek a follow-up bill with a bigger price tag that could include a second payment of up to $1,200.
While we wait to see how and when negotiations shake out over the current proposals, here’s what you need to know about coronavirus hardship loans, unemployment insurance and what you can do if you’ve lost your job.
