Mnuchin says GOP has 'fundamental' deal on $1T coronavirus relief package
By Jordain Carney - 07/23/20 11:06 AM EDT
The White House and Senate Republicans on Thursday reached a "fundamental agreement" on a coronavirus package, according to a top negotiator.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — said staff were now trying to finalize text of the agreement, which is expected to be released as a group of bills instead of one piece of legislation.
"We just had a very productive discussion with the leader. We do have a fundamental agreement between the White House and the Republicans in the Senate," Mnuchin told reporters.
Asked what the outstanding sticking points were, Mnuchin pointed to needing to finalize and sign off on text.
"This is obviously is complicated stuff. The teams worked late into last night. We're going to go back and review language this morning, whether it gets introduced today or not, we're still looking at the timing. But again, we have a fundamental agreement, we're just now going through language," Mnuchin said.
The top line of the bill, according to Meadows, will still be around $1 trillion, a cap that both McConnell and the White House had sought to impose on the opening Republican offer amid angst within their caucus about the impact the roughly $3 trillion already appropriated by Congress could have on the country's debt.
The forthcoming GOP proposal will include a second round of stimulus checks for individuals who make up to $75,000 per year.
It's also expected to end a $600 per week boost to federal unemployment benefits and instead replace it with a roughly 70 percent match of a worker's wages before they were laid off. The 70 percent match would last through the end of the year under the Republican bill.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/508677-mnuchin-says-gop-has-fundamental-deal-on-1t-coronavirus-relief-bill
