Lawmakers struck a nearly $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus deal Sunday that includes another round of stimulus checks and badly needed jobless benefits for struggling Americans, ending a long standoff in Washington with one of the biggest rescue bills in U.S. history.
After months of impasse, negotiations came down to the wire as 12 million people are set to lose unemployment benefits the day after Christmas. The deal includes restarting a $300 boost to the federal unemployment insurance benefit, extending eviction moratoriums for renters by a month and a $600 direct payment to most Americans.
Even though lawmakers reached a deal, some jobless Americans could see their unemployment benefits lapse because it may take weeks for aid to reach them through outdated state systems, experts say.
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The measure will help Americans in the near term, but it stops short of mitigating the economic fallout that American households have endured during the pandemic, some economists and unemployment experts say. The final bill provides five fewer weeks of unemployment benefits than the compromise reached by a bipartisan group of senators earlier this month.
The measure will be tied to a $1.4 trillion must-pass spending bill that will fund federal agencies and programs through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Congress passed a one-day extension of government funding late Sunday to give lawmakers one more day to review the deal to avert a partial government shutdown deadline.
For the bill to become law, both the House and Senate must pass the legislation, and President Donald Trump will need to sign it. Both chambers are expected to debate and vote on the package Monday.
Here’s what is in the stimulus package:
Will I get another stimulus check?
The measure contains an up to $600 direct payment to most Americans, and $600 per child, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. That is less than the $1,200 checks approved in the spring.
It would also include $1,200 for couples making up to $150,000 a year.
The size of the benefit would be reduced for those earning more than $75,000 in 2019, similar to the last round of stimulus checks, according to The Washington Post.
When will stimulus checks be sent?
The government will begin to send out direct payments to millions of Americans next week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday.
“People are going to see this money the beginning of next week,” Mnuchin said in a CNBC interview.
Are unemployment benefits extended?
The bill would extend all pandemic unemployment programs set to expire at the end of December by 11 weeks.
The deal came as two…
Read More: $600 stimulus checks and $300 jobless aid