Pelosi, Schumer Back Using Bipartisan Plan in Stimulus Talks [View all]

[LizBeth]

President-elect Joe Biden said the $908 billion bipartisan proposal “wouldn’t be the answer but it would be immediate help.” Speaking at an event in Delaware, he said whatever Congress passes would only be a “down payment” on what he’ll be proposing once he takes office on Jan. 20.

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Under that bipartisan proposal, small businesses would get a roughly $300 billion infusion for a version of the Paycheck Protection Program of forgivable loans and other aid, and state and local governments would get about $240 billion, including money for schools, according to three people familiar with the proposal.

An additional $180 billion would go to an extension of pandemic unemployment benefits, providing an added $300-a-week for four months.

The proposal doesn’t include direct payments to individuals.

“The bill that has been worked on between Republicans and Democrats has the best shot of actually passing,” said Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who was one of the nine senators in the bipartisan group making the proposal. “There are message bills and then there are bills that can pass, and we have to have Democratic votes to get a bill through the Senate.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-02/pelosi-schumer-back-bipartisan-plan-as-base-for-stimulus-talks-ki7sva3w