McConnell details $500 billion COVID bill set for Wednesday vote
By Jordain Carney - 10/17/20 05:05 PM EDT
The Senate will vote on a $500 billion GOP coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced on Saturday.
The bill — which is less than a third of the size of the $1.8 trillion offer from the White House — will include a federal unemployment benefit and another round of small business assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program.
The bill, according to McConnell, will also include more than $100 billion for schools, as well as money for testing, contact tracing and vaccine development and distribution.
McConnell will require Democratic help to get the 60 votes needed to pass the bill in the Senate. Democrats previously blocked a similar bill and are expected to do the same to the new GOP proposal.
“Nobody thinks this $500B+ proposal would resolve every problem forever. It would deliver huge amounts of additional help to workers and families right now while Washington keeps arguing over the rest,†McConnell said.
In addition to the $500 billion package, McConnell said the Senate will vote on Tuesday on a stand-alone PPP proposal. It would also need 60 votes to ultimately pass the Senate. Republicans had previously planned to hold a stand-alone PPP vote in August but scrapped it because of caucus infighting.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/521555-mcconnell-details-500-billion-covid-bill-set-for-wednesday-vote