Agreement likely Sunday on nearly $1 trillion virus aid bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Washington negotiators, propelled by a late-night agreement on the last major obstacle to a COVID-19 economic relief package, said a Sunday agreement is all but inevitable to deliver long-overdue pandemic aid of almost $1 trillion.
“I am very hopeful that we get this done today,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Only a handful of issues remained, said the Senate's top Democrat. “Barring a major mishap, the Senate and House will be able to vote on final legislation as early as tonight,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.
The breakthrough involved a fight over Federal Reserve emergency powers that was resolved by Schumer and conservative Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Aides to lawmakers in both parties said the compromise sparked a final round of negotiations.
Lawmakers and aides said it would likely require all of Sunday to finalize and draft the final agreement, which is already guaranteed to be the largest spending measure yet, combining COVID-19 relief with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unrelated legislation on taxes, health, infrastructure and education.
The measure is finally nearing passage amid a frightening spike in coronavirus cases and deaths and accumulating evidence that the economy is struggling. Lawmakers and aides say it would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefits and $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans. It would provide a fresh round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.
President Donald Trump is supportive, particularly of the push for providing more direct payments. “GET IT DONE,” he said in a...