What’s in the Covid relief bill? Democrats and Republicans in Congress claim wins

WASHINGTON — After more than seven months of negotiations, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are on the cusp of passing a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill and both sides are claiming victory while blaming the other for the delays in getting additional relief to Americans.

Democrats are coming away with far less than the $3.3 trillion bill House Democrats passed in May, which included nearly $1 trillion in federal funding for state and local governments. The bill set to be voted on late Monday won’t include any funding for states, a top Democratic priority. It will also exclude the Republican priority of liability protection from Covid-19-related lawsuits for businesses.

The Covid-19 relief is part of a larger government funding bill.

Both parties are touting wins that play to their constituents.

Senate Democrats pointed to funding for under-represented groups, like Native American and minority communities. House Republicans emphasized limits they had put in place on benefits for undocumented immigrants and food stamp payments.

President Donald Trump, who at one point said he favored an even larger aid package, is expected to sign the bill, White House spokesman Ben Williamson said Monday.

Dec. 21, 202002:24

While the bill will renew government assistance programs that were going to expire at the end of the year, Democrats insist the compromise legislation won’t be enough and they will embark on another round of aid when they return in January.

President-elect Joe Biden called the bill an “important down payment” suggesting he would propose another round of relief funding once in office.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s in the bill:

The bill brings revives the supplemental federal unemployment insurance benefit giving an extra $300 a week to those receiving state unemployment benefits, a top priority for Democrats.

That’s less than the $600 a week that Congress approved in March but expired in July. Republicans had opposed the boosted unemployment checks, arguing the generous payments were disincentivizing people from seeking work.

The bill also extends a program for self-employed and gig-economy workers that provides additional weeks of unemployment insurance, and includes an extra benefit of $100 per week for some workers who are both self employed as well as have a salaried job. Farmers and ranchers who have been affected by the pandemic will also receive $13 billion in assistance.

Democrats claimed victory for a $13 billion increase in the SNAP food stamp program, while Republicans emphasized that the benefit increase would be limited to six months and doesn’t expand eligibility.

The federal government will be distributing out another round of direct payment checks, this time in the amount of $600 for individuals making up to $75,000 per year and $1,200 for couples making up to $150,000 per year plus a $600 payment for each dependent child, according to Democrats and Republicans.

The CARES Act passed in March sent $1,200 checks to individuals and $2,400 for couples. This time, Senate Democrats said Sunday, the bill would include a provision to expand the direct payments to “mixed-status households, importantly providing immigrant families across the country with access to this financial relief.” The previous round was criticized when people married to legal immigrants were unable to get checks.

But Republicans also claimed a win, saying that they ensured “safeguards to prohibit illegal aliens from receiving payment,” according to a memo by House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise.

There will also be $25 billion in rental assistance to help pay for past due rent, future rent payments and utility bills as well as an extension of the existing CDC eviction moratorium through January 31, 2021, Democrats and Republicans said.

The bill includes another $284 billion for first and second time loans through the Paycheck Protection Program that provides forgivable loans to small businesses. The program was widely used during the first round and has been touted by both Republicans and Democrats.

The bill also expands the program to include nonprofits and local news organizations, and there is an additional $20 billion in grants for business in low income communities.

The bill also provides $15 billion for live entertainment venues, cultural institutions and independent movie theatres, Democrats said. Republicans applauded their efforts to ensure churches and faith-based organizations are eligible for the loans and that unions are excluded from getting any federal support.

In a win for Republicans, the spending bill again includes language that prohibits the Security and Exchange Commission from requiring publicly traded companies to disclose if they contribute money to political causes, something that Democrats have been pushing the Wall Street watchdog to do.

The bill will allocate $20 billion for the purchase of additional vaccines and about $8 billion for vaccine distribution, Democrats and Republicans said. The bill will also send about $22 billion to the states, for testing, tracing and mitigation programs.

More than $3 billion will go to the strategic national stockpile, which is responsible for building up the federal government’s reserves of protective equipment and other supplies needed to respond to a pandemic.

Democrats said they also pushed to secure additional funding for mental health services, support for health care providers, and additional research into COVID-19. Republicans touted that the bill would specifically have $4 billion for substance abuse.

One of the biggest beneficiaries will be schools, who will get $82 billion, the majority of which will go to elementary and secondary schools. There will be $23 billion for colleges and universities.

The bill will also sets aside $1.7 billion for historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and institutions that primarily serve minorities, Democrats said. An additional $10 billion will go to child care services to provide child care assistance to families and help child care providers pay for added costs, Republicans and Democrats said.

In a win for Democrats, the legislation will provide funding for a new museum focused on American Latinos as part of the Smithsonian.

The bill will also include some funding for the transportation industry, including $15 billion for airlines to pay their workers. That is expected to help some of the 32,000 U.S. airline workers furloughed in October, after a six-month $25 billion bailout ran out at the end of September.

It also includes $14 billion for mass transit programs that have seen revenue tumble with ridership declines, an additional $10 billion for state highways, and $1 billion for Amtrak, Democrats and Republicans said.

The ability to access high-speed internet for remote learning students has been an issue in the pandemic and the bill includes $7 billion in broadband funding. It will also provide $300 million for rural broadband and $250 million for telehealth.

But not directly related to the pandemic, the bill will also $2 billion “to replace foreign manufactured broadband equipment that poses national security threats,” Scalise said in his memo to House Republicans.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com