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Senate leaders told reporters Tuesday that they were “very close” to a $2 trillion economic stimulus package aimed at providing relief to Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Republicans and Democrats had agreed to more oversight provisions for a proposed $500 billion fund in the bill to help businesses. The bill would also provide another $500 billion to fund $3,000 direct payments to millions of families, $350 billion for small-business loans, $250 billion for expanded unemployment aid and at least $75 billion for hospitals, Reuters reported.
Democrats have twice blocked the bill’s passage, arguing that previous versions did not provide enough money for states and hospitals, and that it failed to address rising unemployment or properly supervise the money set aside for corporations. Pelosi offered a $2.5 trillion counter proposal that included $4 billion to allow states to conduct November elections by mail.
By late Tuesday though, White House officials said the bill’s final cost would be almost triple Pelosi’s version. Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, estimated that the government’s total spending for coronavirus relief would reach $6 trillion. As part of what he called “the largest Main Street financial package in the history of the United States,” Kudlow said the stimulus would include $2 trillion in direct assistance and roughly $4 trillion in Federal Reserve lending power.
“Liquidity and cash for families, small businesses, individuals, unemployed, to keep this thing going,” he said. “We’re headed for a rough period, but it’s only going to be weeks, we think. Weeks and months, not going to be years. That’s for sure — and hopefully pave the way for continued economic recovery after this crisis departs.”
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