Senate, White House agree $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus ($1200 checks & 4 months of expanded unemployment benefits) Update3: Signed into law!

Killthee · Mar 25, 2020

Senate leaders and the Trump administration reached agreement early Wednesday on a $2 trillion stimulus package to rescue the economy from the coronavirus assault, potentially setting the stage for swift passage of the massive legislation through both chambers of Congress.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are done. We have a deal," White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland told reporters around 1 a.m.

The package would extend extraordinary taxpayer assistance to potentially millions of American and companies that have been hammered by the fast-moving economic crisis. The bill is being rushed through Congress without public hearings or formal review, and it's unclear how effective the measures would be in arresting the economy's sudden fall.

The Senate bill would direct payments of $1,200 to most American adults and $500 to most children, create a $500 billion lending program for companies, states, and cities, and extend an additional $367 billion to help small companies deal with payroll problems. It would bolster the unemployment insurance system and pump $150 billion into U.S. hospitals. The bill more than doubled in size in just a few days.

The delay in finalizing a deal came, in part, because aides launched a painstaking scrub of the bill's text, to make sure that one of the most ambitious pieces of legislation ever attempted by Congress — thrown together in little over a week — actually said what lawmakers wanted it to say.

Senate Republicans were being extra meticulous because they felt an earlier and much smaller coronavirus relief bill, which Mnuchin negotiated in a rush with Pelosi earlier this month, turned out to have provisions related to paid sick leave that GOP senators opposed – but which they reluctantly accepted. Now, they wanted to double- and triple-check Mnuchin's work in brokering a deal with Schumer given the enormous stakes.

As lawmakers neared a deal, the White House made a significant concession to Democrats' demands, agreeing to allow enhanced scrutiny over the massive loan program that is a centerpiece of the Senate's $2 trillion coronavirus economic package.
This pertains to the $500 billion loan and loan guarantee program that the Treasury Department would be tasked with administering for companies, states, and cities. Of that amount, $425 billion is supposed to go to businesses, cities and states. An additional $50 billion would go to passenger airlines, as well as $8 billion for cargo airlines, and $17 billion for firms that are deemed important to national security.

........

But during closed-door negotiations on Capitol Hill, White House officials agreed to allow an independent inspector general and an oversight board to scrutinize the lending decisions, senators said.

The legislation would also significantly boost unemployment insurance, expanding eligibility and offering workers an additional $600 a week for four months, on top of what state unemployment programs pay.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/03/24/trump-coronavirus-congress-economic-stimulus/

Senate vote should be later today, House will likely follow soon after if leadership is able to reel in dissenters.

Summary of what's included in the bill:

FAQ on the bill:

Coronavirus checks, direct deposits are coming. Here's everything you need to know.

Who qualifies? How much is being sent? When? How will I get the money? Questions and answers.

www.nbcnews.com

F.A.Q. on Stimulus Checks, Unemployment and the Coronavirus Plan

The $2 trillion relief package is sending money directly to Americans, greatly expanding unemployment coverage and making a number of other changes.

www.nytimes.com

Fat4all · Mar 25, 2020

is that the unemployment benefit buff Pelosi asked for or is it missing something, im half awake

TechnoTrousers · Mar 25, 2020

BringBackSonics · Mar 25, 2020

It says the repubs gave in on Paid sick leave..but I'm not seeing those details?

sensui-tomo · Mar 25, 2020

Fat4all said:
is that the unemployment benefit buff Pelosi asked for or is it missing something, im half awake

I'm guessing this part is that? "The legislation would also significantly boost unemployment insurance, expanding eligibility and offering workers an additional $600 a week for four months, on top of what state unemployment programs pay."
this could help out those whom make lower wages whom lost their jobs over the past weeks

nampad · Mar 25, 2020

That number is just crazy if you compare it to what figures are throw around in other countries.

Feep · Mar 25, 2020

Good for Pelosi for getting them to cave on a few key areas, looks like.

BringBackSonics · Mar 25, 2020

TechnoTrousers said:
Yay?

Got paid sick leave and expanded Unemployment, and loan oversight...Lost some cash amount, but it no longer looks like there will be means testing that was in the original senate bill. Also lost the student loans.

I mean its a comprise. Both sides got things. It needed to be done.

XenodudeX · Mar 25, 2020

Hopefully this will help us avoid a recession

mrmoose · Mar 25, 2020

BringBackSonics said:
It says the repubs gave in on Paid sick leave..but I'm not seeing those details?

That was in a previous bill (see the very end of the article)

TechnoTrousers · Mar 25, 2020

BringBackSonics said:
Got paid sick leave and expanded Unemployment, and loan oversight...Lost some cash amount, but it no longer looks like there will be means testing that was in the original senate bill. Also lost the student loans.

I mean its a comprise. Both sides got things. It needed to be done.

True. And better late than never I guess.

Killthee · Mar 25, 2020

BringBackSonics said:
It says the repubs gave in on Paid sick leave..but I'm not seeing those details?

If it's the paragraph I included in the OP it's referring to the second bill that was signed last week and was filled with tons of concessions leaving a huge chunk of the population without sick leave so republicans would sign on board.

mrmoose · Mar 25, 2020

BringBackSonics said:
Got paid sick leave and expanded Unemployment, and loan oversight...Lost some cash amount, but it no longer looks like there will be means testing that was in the original senate bill. Also lost the student loans.

I mean its a comprise. Both sides got things. It needed to be done.

It still says "for most Americans" for the checks so doesn't that indicate some kind of means testing?

Kyra · Mar 25, 2020

The bill is better because Dems made Republicans cave on some key areas. It isn't ideal but the ones who helped you the most wasn't McConnel or Trump.

Jack Bauer · Mar 25, 2020

XenodudeX said:
Hopefully this will help us avoid a recession

It won't.

Killthee · Mar 25, 2020

Fat4all said:
is that the unemployment benefit buff Pelosi asked for or is it missing something, im half awake

Partly, final bill is 4 months while the house version had 6 months. The house version also included $300 a week for new entrants to the job market which I'm not sure made it into the final bill.

zulux21 · Mar 25, 2020

XenodudeX said:
Hopefully this will help us avoid a recession

It likely won't, but it will at least help American's stress levels, and reduce the chance people feel the need to decide between trying to have money to survive and avoiding helping spread the virus.

Fat4all · Mar 25, 2020

mrmoose said:
It still says "for most Americans" for the checks so doesn't that indicate some kind of means testing?

i wonder if it's based on having a tax id/ssn

it'd be nice to have the full bill in detail, but it's pretty clear they slap-dashed this together in a couple hours

El Bombastico · Mar 25, 2020

XenodudeX said:
Hopefully this will help us avoid a recession

Recession is inevitable. This is so people don't starve.

Fulminator · Mar 25, 2020

The expanded unemployment + state unemployment is like double what I make normally. That's crazy. Still have my job(s) though.

MrNewVegas · Mar 25, 2020

Hopefully they go through social media and revoke these benefits from people telling others to pick up their bootstraps, shaming food stamp people or saying welfare people are exploiting the system.

Deleted member 36578 · Mar 25, 2020

I'm just thankful there was something agreed upon.

jb1234 · Mar 25, 2020

mrmoose said:
It still says "for most Americans" for the checks so doesn't that indicate some kind of means testing?

At the very least, it'll probably leave out people on disability.

bastardly · Mar 25, 2020

The amounts of the one-time payments, which officials hope could go out to Americans as soon as early April, will be based on income reported in 2018 taxes, declining gradually beginning with individuals who made $75,000 or married couples filed jointly who made $150,000. Individuals making $99,000 or above or married couples making $198,000 or more would receive no check. People would also receive an additional $500 per child.

Deal reached on $2-trillion coronavirus stimulus bill — largest by far in U.S. history

The deal spurred by the coronavirus outbreak includes direct payments to many Americans, and aid for both large corporations and small businesses.

www.latimes.com

sorry 100K era

CitizenVectron · Mar 25, 2020

nampad said:
That number is just crazy if you compare it to what figures are throw around in other countries.

Looks to be around 2.7x per person than what Canada has currently committed.

$85 billion / 38 million = $2,237
$2,000 billion / 327 million = $6,116

Musubi · Mar 25, 2020

Better than nothing I suppose. At least people are getting some kind of money and the unemployment boost is a huge deal.

Gundam · Mar 25, 2020

Since it's based on 2018, I get fucking nothing

antonz · Mar 25, 2020

It is a good start. Hopefully things can improve in a timely fashion to where we don't need more lifelines thrown out but if it doesn't then Congress will need to be ready to act for long term assistance.

fr0st · Mar 25, 2020

So if I only work part time should I apply for unemployment since my workplace is closed?

Also the $600 that I could possibly get is separate from a state unemployment that I could also possible get?

thefit · Mar 25, 2020

Jack Bauer said:
It won't.

Yeah it won't. This it to soften the blow as people start to loose their jobs, its to help them feed and keep a roof over their heads until shit blows over and it slows companies crashing as they figure shit out. This is going to get revisited over and over until at least new leadership takes over and actually takes it seriously. I see this as Dems putting their foot in the door to keep it open to an eventual worker bail out in 2021 and beyond.

Sign My Guestbook! · Mar 25, 2020

Should help keep some people afloat at least.

TheFatOne · Mar 25, 2020

Gundam said:
Since it's based on 2018, I get fucking nothing

Same.

TechnoTrousers · Mar 25, 2020

Is there any conceivable chance of this having trouble passing through the Senate?

Edit: nvm, seems McConnell is on board with the whole thing

Lagspike_exe · Mar 25, 2020

What does 2018 taxes mean? Taxes filed in 2018 for 2017 income or 2018 income filed in 2019?

xfactor99 · Mar 25, 2020

Gundam said:
Since it's based on 2018, I get fucking nothing

No, it's now based on your 2019 tax returns, and only uses 2018 if you did not file in 2019. That LA Times article is not up to date with the newest version of the bill.

FreezePeach · Mar 25, 2020

Is there a minimum cutoff for checks? Past bills said someone would have had to have filed at least a few thousand in taxes to get a check.

Interested Observer · Mar 25, 2020

Looks very positive. What am I missing?

Fat4all · Mar 25, 2020

Lagspike_exe said:
What does 2018 taxes mean? Taxes filed in 2018 for 2017 income or 2018 income filed in 2019?

'XXXX taxes' usually means the income declared for that year, so the taxes you filled early 2019

Juice · Mar 25, 2020

This is about as good as we were going to get, it seems like.

AndrewDean84 · Mar 25, 2020

Gundam said:
Since it's based on 2018, I get fucking nothing

I read somewhere that 2019 will work if no 2018 was filed.

zulux21 · Mar 25, 2020

TechnoTrousers said:
Is there any conceivable chance of this having trouble passing through the Senate?

I doubt they would be announcing they have a deal in the Senate with quotes from happy Dems if it wasn't going to pass. The Dems got the main thing they were hung up on which is having an independent group check to see where the 500 billion of company bailout goes instead of leaving it up to Trump stooges.

Servbot24 · Mar 25, 2020

I think that basing it on your 2018 income is stupid

But also because it's based on the 2018 income, I will get the money. So I will take it, even though I would have drafted the bill differently myself.

thefit · Mar 25, 2020

TechnoTrousers said:
Is there any conceivable chance of this having trouble passing through the Senate?

Yes. Its called the freedom caucus and one Rand Paul.

sensui-tomo · Mar 25, 2020

fr0st said:
So if I only work part time should I apply for unemployment since my workplace is closed?

Also the $600 that I could possibly get is separate from a state unemployment that I could also possible get?

I dont know about your first question sadly, but if i'm reading the second question and info right. It'd be what you'd normally would get from unemployment PLUS $600. Which yes can be more than what some people made at a low paying job.

ostrichKing · Mar 25, 2020

So if you are over the amount but have kids...would you get the amount for the kids?

kIdMuScLe · Mar 25, 2020

What about my parents who are on SSN income?

Prototype Viktor · Mar 25, 2020

Doubling in a few days then there's people 40 billion that will disappear somewhere

Natiko · Mar 25, 2020

And the way this works is we have to pay the money back through taxes in the future right? Wondering if there's a way to opt out.

BringBackSonics · Mar 25, 2020

bastardly said:
Deal reached on $2-trillion coronavirus stimulus bill — largest by far in U.S. history

The deal spurred by the coronavirus outbreak includes direct payments to many Americans, and aid for both large corporations and small businesses.

www.latimes.com

sorry 100K era

I need the full bill lol.

Fat4all · Mar 25, 2020

zulux21 said:
I doubt they would be announcing they have a deal in the Senate with quotes from happy Dems if it wasn't going to pass. The Dems got the main thing they were hung up on which is having an independent group check to see where the 500 billion of company bailout goes instead of leaving it up to Trump stooges.

yea, if they are announcing it along with the WH, they have the numbers

Senate, White House agree $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus ($1200 checks & 4 months of expanded unemployment benefits) Update3: Signed into law!

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