A major area of uncertainty seems likely to be cleared up today, as the U.S. congress has scheduled an announcement about the final details of the COVID-19 stimulus package at 4:00 pm Eastern time today, Bloomberg reports.
See: Refusing to Wait for Congress, These Cities and States Are Handing Out COVID-19 Relief
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been in discussions over the weekend. They have been working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The proposal seems to have two parts that total $908 billion in pandemic relief. One part will include aid to the unemployed and to small businesses. The second part is more controversial and includes liability protections and aid for state and local governments.
By splitting the provisions, Congress has made it more likely that some stimulus will be included in the government spending bill. This must be passed by Friday, December 18 or the government will shut down.
See: Where Experts Think Congress Should Spend Stimulus Money
Find: 10 Things Stopping You From Getting a Relief Check
The plan is being announced today to give lawmakers enough time to consider the provisions before the shutdown deadline. The debate over the stimulus prevented an agreement from being reached before the earlier deadline of December 11. However, President Trump signed a budget extension to give Congress an extra week. Lawmakers continue to debate how best to support the economy during the pandemic in the face of rising federal deficits.
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