This archive report was first published on 21 April 2020.
As the US Senate convenes a procedural session on Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers are racing to reach agreement on a nearly $500 billion aid package for small businesses, hospitals, and testing. The package, intended to be an interim measure to shore up a $2 trillion stimulus package signed into law last month, has been delayed due to ongoing negotiations.
According to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, a bipartisan agreement is still in the works, with 'a few more i's to dot and t's to cross.' Schumer spoke on CNN, saying that he, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, spoke well after midnight to reach agreement on outstanding issues.
However, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, notified lawmakers late Monday that even if an agreement is reached in time for the Senate to pass the measure on Tuesday, the earliest the House will take action is Thursday morning. This delay has left millions of small businesses in limbo without federal assistance, as funding for the Paycheck Protection Program has lapsed during the impasse.
Negotiators are still working to reach agreement on a Democratic demand to include a provision that would require the establishment of a national testing strategy. Republicans are wary of placing the onus of such a strategy on the administration, and want states to decide their own strategies.
