After months of negotiations, United States legislators have agreed on a long-awaited COVID-19 relief bill that will boost unemployment payments and aid to small businesses.
The Senate’s top Republican and Democrat said they had reached an agreement on a nearly $900bn package, but it remained unclear when Congress would vote to seal the deal.
“At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor of the measure to provide assistance to address a number of coronavirus-related issues
“More help is on the way,” McConnell said.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the package should have enough support to pass both chambers of Congress.
“Finally, we have some good news to deliver to the American people,” he said on the Senate floor.
The package would be the second-largest economic stimulus in US history, following a $2.3 trillion aid bill passed in March.
It would give $600 direct payments to individuals, boost unemployment payments by $300 a week and give hundreds of billions of dollars in additional aid to small businesses.
The announcement came two days after the US Congress voted overwhelmingly for a stopgap bill late Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown and just hours before a midnight (05:00 GMT on Monday) deadline to pass the legislation.
The COVID-19 relief bill is being attached to a $1.4 trillion government funding package that legislators must pass before leaving Washington for the year.
The negotiations had stalled on Saturday over a provision pushed by Republican Senator Pat Toomey to curb the emergency powers of the US Federal Reserve to provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as to state and local governments.
Democrats were vehemently opposed to the measure, saying it would restrict the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden, which will take office amid a dire economic situation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But legislators on Sunday said they had resolved disputes about the Federal Reserve’s pandemic lending authority, education funding and small-business lending. “I think it’s, for the most part, wrapped up,” Republican Senator John Thune told reporters.
More than 317,000 people have died in the US due to the novel coronavirus, which continues to spread at an alarming rate, and more than 17.8 million cases have been reported since the crisis began – the highest totals in the world.
More than 10 million people who lost their jobs since the US outbreak began still remain out of work.

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