US lawmakers have reached an agreement on a coronavirus pandemic aid package worth about $900 billion after months of discussions.
The approximately $900 billion package of coronavirus pandemic aid agreed upon by the lawmakers will be part of a larger $1.4 trillion spending bill that will be used to finance US government operations over the next nine months.
Coronavirus pandemic aid package
The new aid package will grant $600 direct stimulus payments to most US citizens and will increase unemployment payments by $300 weekly. The package will also include $300 billion which will be used to support businesses, vaccine distribution, schools and renters facing eviction.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell announced the deal on Sunday, saying: "We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time: More help is on the way."
Senator McConnell added that the new package will have "targeted policies to help struggling Americans who have already waited too long."
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the package "delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates".
While the bill did not include substantial support for local governments, a priority among Democrats, Senator Schumer said it will still indirectly help local governments by providing funds for schools, Covid-19 testing and other expenses.
He added that the new bill would "establish a floor, not a ceiling, for coronavirus relief in 2021", and that Democrats would call for more aid once President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20.
Needed stimulus for the pandemic
Last September, Milken Institute chief economist William Lee said that the US fiscal stimulus must be around $3 trillion to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Lee pointed out that his proposed $3 trillion budget must be allocated to programs such as incentivizing businesses to expand remote working settings and assisting the unemployed get jobs in companies with viable business models.
"I think the one thing that everyone … agrees with is we have to get in there and get in big. The issue is how do you get big without a permanent increase in fiscal deficit," he said during an interview on CNBC’s "Squawk Box Asia."
"That’s why the programs that are put in place have to be targeted and designed in a way so that they disappear once the economy comes back online again," he noted.
In October, President Donald Trump ordered a halt to talks over a new stimulus package until after the election.
In a series of tweets, the president said: "I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business."
Trump’s tweets surprised lawmakers, particularly because Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been working with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over proposals and the two have been negotiating for days in order to iron out differences.
A few hours after making this statement, he made a turnabout by tweeting: "If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?"
