Senate Passes Largest Stimulus Bill in US History; On to the House for Final Passage

Posted on March 26, 2020
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. The 880-page measure is the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history.

The unanimous vote Wednesday came despite misgivings on both sides about whether it goes too far or not far enough. It caps days of difficult negotiations as Washington confronted a national challenge unlike any it has ever faced.

President Trump tweeted after the vote:

The bill now moves on to the House for a final votre.

The package is intended as relief for an economy spiraling into recession or worse and a nation facing a grim toll from an infection that’s killed nearly more than 21,000 people worldwide.

A small group of Republican Senators has threatened to block the bill over objections to the expanded unemployment insurance provision.

Early in the day Wednesday Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted:

@LindseyGrahamSC
Only in Senator@BernieSanders world does it make sense to pay people more NOT to work than TO work. I am all for making peoples salaries whole. However, I am not for increasing people’s salary through the unemployment insurance system.
Graham and the other critics eventually voted  for the bill.
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Among provision in the package:

  • $150B to the Strategic National Stockpile for the healthcare system
  • $500B in aid for corporations, including airline companies and cruise lines, that have been hurt by the outbreak
  • $350B for small businesses impacted by the pandemic in the form of loans; some of those loans could be forgiven
  • Expanded Unemployment Insurance — Will allow for four months of full pay for those furloughed as a result of the crisis, and will also raise the maximum unemployment insurance benefit by $600
  • Direct checks to middle class and lower income levels — likely $1,200 to most American adults – $500 to children
  • 150B to state and local governments to address spending shortages related to the coronavirus pandemic
  • Bill prohibits businesses controlled by the president, vice president, members of Congress and heads of executive departments from participating in the loan or investment programs. Children, spouses and other relatives will also be banned.
  • Bans stock buybacks for the term of government assistance plus an additional year for any company receiving a government loan from the bill.
  • Establishes worker protections attached to federal loans for businesses and prohibits airlines from using the funds for CEO bonuses.

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