Senate strikes deal on $484 billion relief package for small business, hospitals, testing

The bill grants $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing. Out of the testing funding, $11 billion would go to states, people familiar with the deal said. The remaining funds would go to agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Up to $1 billion may be used to cover the costs of testing for the uninsured.

The bill clarifies that agriculture companies are eligible for the EIDL program, after previous concern they were not.

Here’s what the bill would include:

• $310 billion total for PPP, with $250 billion unrestricted and $60 billion set aside for smaller institutions
• $50 billion for EIDL loans and $10 billion for EIDL grants
• $75 billion for hospitals 
• $25 billion for testing, $11 billion of which will be distributed to states
• $2.1 billion for Small Business Administration administrative expenses

“I welcome this bipartisan agreement and hope the Senate will quickly pass it once members have reviewed the final text,” McConnell said in a statement, criticizing Democrats for resisting the passage of additional small business funding earlier this month “in a search for partisan ‘leverage’ that never materialized.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday morning that he believes the Senate will pass an additional relief bill for small businesses later in the day.

Schumer, D-N.Y., told CNN that he spoke “well past midnight” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and “came to an agreement on just about every issue.” 

The government has been under pressure to replenish a fund allocated to small businesses as part of the $2.2 trillion relief bill President Donald Trump signed late last month. The program offers forgivable loans to companies that agree to maintain payroll. Its funds, which totaled $349 billion, ran out last week, putting pressure on businesses that retained employees in hopes of obtaining the loan. 

“Staff were up all night, writing. There’s still a few more I’s to dot and T’s to cross, but we have a deal. And I believe we’ll pass it today,” Schumer said. 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/21/coronavirus-relief-schumer-believes-senate-will-pass-small-business-bill.html