The Senate has passed an extension of the popular Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, which was set to close down Tuesday night with more than $130 billion in funding left over.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will attempt to expedite approval of changes to the popular Paycheck Protection Program aimed at giving small businesses more flexibility in using the money from the fund, according to Senate aides.
The measure, passed 208-199, would give cash-strapped states and local governments more than $1 trillion while providing most Americans with a new round of $1,200 checks
Republicans universally rejected a $3 trillion stimulus measure drafted by House Democrats to bolster the U.S. economy, but the draft plan has the seeds for an eventual, smaller compromise.
House Democrats proposed a $3 trillion virus relief bill Tuesday, combining aid to state and local governments with direct cash payments, tax breaks, expanded unemployment insurance and food stamp spending as well as a list of progressive priorities like funds for voting by mail and the troubled U.S. Postal Service.
The proposal would give a safe harbor to financial institutions that work with cannabis companies in states where the substance is legal. But the bill, which would direct $3 trillion in aid to struggling households, businesses and local governments, faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Senate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed President Donald Trump’s call for a payroll tax cut and changes in the capital gains tax, saying it wouldn’t help millions of unemployed workers and others struggling in an economy shut down by the pandemic.
The House is expected to vote later this week on the bill expanding emergency relief for small businesses reeling from the effects of the coronavirus.
The Senate Banking Committee chair will work with the heads of other panels in overseeing the $2 trillion stimulus package that Congress passed last month.
A trade group says suspending so-called beneficial owner rules would help financial institutions make more small-business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.