Coronavirus stimulus: Read the latest outline of the $908B bipartisan plan
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is still trying to finalize a $908 billion coronavirus relief plan. Yahoo Finance obtained a summary of the proposal on Wednesday, which lawmakers hope could eventually act as the framework for legislation.
Aid for state and local governments and liability protections for businesses and other organizations — two of the biggest sticking points in the negations — remained unresolved, as of Wednesday morning.
The summary of the plan largely matches the outline released last week, and includes a $300 weekly boost to unemployment benefits, an extension of expiring unemployment programs and airline aid, another round of Paycheck Protection Program loans, rental assistance, student loan forbearance and money for vaccines, testing and contact tracing.
As expected, the proposal does not include stimulus checks.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin offered a separate $916 billion plan on Tuesday, which Democrats rejected. That offer included $600 stimulus checks, but did not include a weekly boost to unemployment benefits. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the unemployment insurance offer “unacceptable.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.V.), a key architect of the bipartisan plan, told reporters it's a positive step that the administration's proposal is in the $900 billion range — but that's not enough.
"How can anybody say 'I'm going to send another check to people that already have a paycheck and job, and not send anything to the unemployed,'? That doesn't make any sense to me at all," said Manchin.
Democratic leaders also bashed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s suggestion of dropping the controversial provisions on state and local aid and liability protection, in order to pass a more narrow deal.
“The bipartisan talks are the best hope for a bipartisan solution,” said Pelosi and Schumer in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Here’s a look at the summary of the $908 billion bipartisan plan:
BipartisanFramework on Scribd
Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8.
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