Here’s a look at what lawmakers have done so far and what we know about what is under discussion for additional relief.
2-week paid sick leave for ill or quarantined workers
Who gets it? Not everyone. Only people being tested or treated for coronavirus or have been diagnosed with it. Also eligible would be those who have been told by a doctor or government official to stay home because of exposure or symptoms.
What does it pay? Payments will be capped at $511 a day, roughly what someone making $133,000 earns annually.
Who pays for it? Employers to begin with, but they can then recoup the cost with a federal tax credit. Note: This was originally going to be a more generous benefit for workers, but Republicans in the Senate balked at the effect on businesses.
2-week paid sick leave for other workers
Who gets it? Workers with family members affected by coronavirus and those whose children’s schools have closed.
What does it pay? These workers will receive up to two-thirds of their pay, though that benefit is limited to $200 a day. That would cover two-thirds of the typical daily wage of someone earning up to about $75,000 annually.
Who pays for it? The same federal tax credit, though employers will have to pay out the benefit up front.
Paid family leave
Who gets it? Those whose children’s schools have closed. The number of people affected by school closures will run into many millions. Note: This benefit was originally open to those who were tested, diagnosed, being treated or quarantined for coronavirus or caring for an affected family member.
What does it pay? People who can’t work would still receive up to two-thirds of their pay, though that benefit is limited to $200 a day, which is about two-thirds of the typical daily wage of someone earning up to about $75,000.
How long does it last? This benefit lasts up to a total of 12 weeks, including two weeks of sick leave. Note that many schools could be closed through the end of the year.
Who pays for it? Again, businesses on the front end. But they’d be reimbursed through federal tax credits.
Here’s the fine print
Who’s cut out? Employers could exclude health care workers and emergency responders from either paid leave provision, amid fears of staffing shortages among medical providers.
What if employers can’t pay? Most of the 35 million American workers at small businesses don’t currently get paid family leave. Small businesses — fewer than 50 employees — can apply for financial hardship waivers from the leave provisions affecting workers whose children are out of school.
What about large employers? Companies with more than 500 employees are exempt. But they usually already provide some pared back level of paid leave.
So who else could this actually help? The leave provisions also benefit part-timers, the self-employed and those in the gig economy, who typically don’t have paid sick or family leave.
Free testing, food stamps, Medicaid — The bill also includes free coronavirus testing for all Americans, additional funding for Medicaid and more flexibility for states to provide SNAP benefits, or food stamps. It is also temporarily lifting the requirement that certain adults without dependent children work in order to receive food stamps for more than three months.
What’s still on the table: Rebate checks and more
What’s being negotiated now is a massive $1 trillion-plus stimulus bill. It seems like something will pass. We just don’t know what it will be yet. Here’s more on the proposals, the most concrete of which came from Senate Republicans Thursday evening.
$3,000 for a family of four — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that under a White House idea, a family of four could get up to $3,000 when payments for two adults and smaller payments for children are combined.
Senate GOP would give slightly bigger checks to far fewer Americans — But Senate Republicans would rather give money to small businesses than individuals. They envision giving stimulus checks to individuals making $75,000 or less.
Bailouts for airlines, hotel, travel industries — Airlines have asked for $50 billion and Trump has expressed a willingness to help them and other travel-related industries. The Senate proposal would give airlines and other affected industries $200 billion in loans.
Conditions for aid? Government equity stakes? — On Thursday, Trump expressed interest in the US government taking ownership stakes in companies that had engaged in stock buybacks and other schemes. The government did not take ownership stakes in US banks or auto companies when it bailed them out a decade ago. Trump’s endorsement is an off-brand take for Republicans, so it’ll be interesting to see if it gains steam.
Aid for small businesses — It’s the small and neighborhood businesses, along with the travel industry, that might be hit hardest by the slowdown. The Senate proposal would give $300 billion in bridge loans to them.
While Republicans are writing the proposal, Democrats have their own ideas. Schumer described a massive ramping up of help for the unemployed. “A thousand dollars goes by pretty quickly if you’re unemployed. In contrast, expanded unemployment insurance — beefed-up unemployment insurance — covers you for a much longer time and would provide a much bigger safety net,” he said on the Senate floor.
White House action
The Trump administration has a lot of power to help affected Americans.
What’s going on in states
Unemployment benefits — Some states are waiving one-week waiting periods and relaxing certain rules to make it easier for their newly jobless residents to access these funds.
CNN’s Tami Luhby contributed to this report.