With a deadline ahead of it this Friday, Congress is closer to approving a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package for businesses and individuals.
Features of the agreement so far:
- $300 billion in aid to businesses
- A $300 per-week bonus in federal jobless benefits and renewal of soon-to-expire state benefits
- $600 direct payments to individuals
- Vaccine distribution funds and money for renters, schools, the Postal Service and people needing aid to pay for food.
It would be the first Congressional response to the pandemic since approval of the CARES Act in March that delivered $1.8 trillion in aid and more generous jobless benefits and direct payments to individuals.
So far, efforts to find aid to state and local government have fallen through though negotiations are continuing today.
