Democratic and Republican lawmakers reached a deal for the emergency interim coronavirus relief bill Tuesday.
The vast majority of the funds — $310 billion — will go to replenish the small business paycheck protection program (PPP) that dried up Friday. Of that, $60 billion will be set aside for small business lenders and community banks.
It will also include funds for an expanded list of programs that Democrats had pushed for over a week of negotiations: $60 billion for small business loans and grants in economic disaster funds, $75 billion for hospitals, and $25 billion for coronavirus testing.
The Senate is aiming to pass the bill by unanimous consent Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The House advised members they could vote on the package as early as Thursday.
Initially, Republicans wanted a straightforward extension of the $251 billion in funding of the PPP, but Democrats held out to extend funds to other key areas such as hospitals and state and local governments.
Generally, lawmakers agreed on that all those items needed more funding, but squared off on the order of how Congress should tackle it: all together or in more narrow bills.
