We have been waiting on the second stimulus check to come, and we may be one step closer to receiving it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are backing a new $908 billion pandemic relief bill. The bill was introduced this week by a bipartisan group of Senate and House lawmakers.
The bipartisan proposal is almost a trillion dollars less than what Nancy and Democrats had previously called for and more than what Republican leaders were willing to agree upon, according to ABC News. The bipartisan relief bill includes $288 billion going to small businesses, $160 billion in state and local government relief, and $180 billion to fund a $300 per week supplemental unemployment benefit through March 2021.
The bill will also provide $16 billion for vaccine distribution, testing, and contact tracing. According to the plan, $82 billion will go toward education and the plan also provides $45 billion for transportation. It will also allocate funds for rental assistance, child care, and internet services.
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Nancy and Chuck’s backing of the bill comes right in time as lawmakers are set to break for the holidays. In a statement released by the pair, it states, “While we made a new offer to Leader McConnell and Leader McCarthy on Monday, in the spirit of compromise, we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations. Of course, we and others will offer improvements, but the need to act is immediate, and we believe that with good-faith negotiations, we could agree.” They continued, “In light of the urgency of meeting the needs of the American people and the hope that the vaccine presents, it’s time for Leader McConnell to sit down with Democrats to finally begin a true, bipartisan effort to meet the needs of the country.”
It is unclear when the proposal will be ready for a vote on the House or Senate floor, or if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would even commit to calling it up for a vote, but they are trying to decide before the end of the year.
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