Congressional leaders have reached a deal on a $900-billion U.S. spending package to bolster the American economy amid the continued spread of COVID-19.
The new spending package is one of the biggest economic relief measures in U.S. history.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the accord late Sunday. The legislative text was still being written, but the House was expected to vote on it Monday, followed by the Senate.
The plan would provide direct payments of $600 U.S. to most Americans and $300 U.S. a week in enhanced unemployment benefits to last through March 2021, according to lawmakers. Expiring programs for gig workers and the long-term unemployed would also continue.
There would be $284 billion U.S. for the Paycheck Protection Program that provides forgivable loans to small businesses. The package includes money for transportation, including airlines, vaccine distribution and education.
Negotiators could not bridge partisan differences over a liability shield for companies and aid for state and local governments and left those provisions out of the legislation. A last-minute dispute over the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending authority threatened to derail an agreement until a compromise late Saturday cleared the way for the broader deal.
The relief plan is attached to a $1.4 trillion U.S. bill that will fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2021.