WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday that lawmakers had reached a deal with the White House on a nearly $500 billion interim coronavirus bill that includes additional funds for the small business loan program as well as more money for hospitals and testing.
“There is still a few more I’s to dot and T’s to cross, but we have a deal, and I believe we’ll pass it today,” Schumer said on CNN.
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The minority leader said he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had been on the phone “well past midnight” with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and they “came to an agreement on just about every issue.”
Schumer said the proposal included $75 billion for hospitals but not additional funding for states as Democrats have sought. Schumer’s office said the proposal also would allocate $120 billion for “unbanked” communities split evenly between the Paycheck Protection Program, which was created by the stimulus legislation passed late last month, and the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Relief Loan Program. The interim proposal is expected to include more than $300 billion in additional money for the program.
Schumer also said that the proposal includes a “national strategy” for testing and contact tracing, which Democrats say is critical to reopening the country. But it is unclear what that would look like, as the White House has publicly insisted that testing be left up to the states. Congressional Republicans have been pushing for a more significant role for private industry in the testing solutions.
The Senate hit a standoff earlier in the month over a Republican proposal to provide $250 billion more in small-business coronavirus relief funds as it quickly became clear that the loan program would run out of money. The parties have been in talks since then, with Democrats pushing to expand the scope of the bill to include more coronavirus funding beyond just the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses that keep their employees on payroll.
Despite Schumer’s optimism that a deal is close, it is unclear if congressional Republicans will support the agreement that Democrats reached with the White House.
Democrats and Republicans in the House have also been battling behind the scenes over a plan to allow votes by proxy amid the pandemic. Members on both sides of the aisle want a recorded vote on this package, which means the entire chamber will have to convene in Washington this week to approve it.
The Senate will meet Tuesday in a pro-forma session at 4 p.m., and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said Tuesday on C-SPAN the chamber could vote on the proposal then. The House will likely vote Thursday morning if the Senate approves the package.
Kasie Hunt, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Alex Moe, Julie Tsirkin and Haley Talbot contributed.