US Congress seals deal on US$900 billion stimulus package
- Package would be the second-largest stimulus in US history, following a US$2.3 trillion aid bill passed in March
- It comes as the pandemic accelerates, infecting more than 214,000 people in the country each day
US lawmakers reached a deal on Sunday for a nearly US$900 billion Covid-19 relief package for millions of Americans as the nation struggles against the world’s largest outbreak of the virus.
The package is expected to include aid for vaccine distribution and logistics, extra jobless benefits of US$300 per week, and a new round of US$600 stimulus cheques – half the amount provided in cheques distributed last March under the CARES Act.
“We’ve agreed to a package of nearly US$900 billion. It is packed with targeted policies to help struggling Americans who have already waited too long,” Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed an agreement had been reached with Republicans and the White House on a deal that “delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates”.
Congress was working under a deadline of midnight Sunday – needing to reach consensus both on assistance to hard-pressed American households and companies and on the 2021 federal budget in order to avoid a government shutdown.
Number two Democrat in the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer, said he expected the deal to pass on Monday and then head to the Senate.