WASHINGTON — A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers is set to unveil a COVID-19 relief package that’s much smaller than what has been proposed by House Democrats, but far larger than the offering from Senate Republican leaders.
A roughly $908 billion proposal set to be announced by nine senators and several House members Tuesday morning would provide, among other things, $240 billion for state and local governments; $300 billion for additional Paycheck Protection Program assistance to small businesses devastated by coronavirus-related shutdowns; and $180 billion to extend enhanced federal unemployment insurance benefits at $300 per week for four months.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a member of the group, said Tuesday morning that extending expiring unemployment benefits was a critical piece of the package. Warner told CNBC that “we ought to not be leaving these folks in a lurch, literally the day after Christmas some of these benefits start to expire.”
“I call it stupidity on steroids if we allow this additional package, whether it’s around unemployment and support for small business, vaccine distribution, a series of other areas that need to be in an interim package, a short-term emergency package to bridge us from now until the next administration,” Warner said.