Chuck Schumer: Agreement reached on major parts of $500 billion coronavirus aid package

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer/AP

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday agreement has been reached on major elements of a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid package for small businesses, including additional help for hospitals and virus testing.

Schumer said post-midnight talks among Democratic and Republican leaders, along with Trump administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, produced a breakthrough agreement on the package. “We have a deal and I think we'll pass it today,” Schumer said on CNN. He cautioned that staff are still “dotting the I's and crossing the T's.”

A Tuesday afternoon Senate session could provide an opportunity to quickly pass the legislation if it comes together quickly, though the Democratic-controlled House is planning on calling lawmakers to Washington for a vote later in the week.A senior Senate GOP leadership aide cautioned that the measure is not finalized and that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has yet to publicly sign off on it.

Schumer said that Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were in close contact with McConnell during the endgame talks. “Every major issue was resolved," Schumer said. “So yes, I believe we have a deal.” M ost of the funding, more than $300 billion, would go to boost a small-business payroll loan program that ran out of money last week. Additional help would be given to hospitals, and billions more would be spent to boost testing for the virus, a key step in building the confidence required to reopen state economies.


Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/chuck-schumer-coronavirus-aid-package-small-businesses-500-billion-dollars-20200421.html

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From what I understand - they were able to get a provision in this draft to be allow the reprogramming of funds from the previous stimulus measures, not originally designated for states/counties/municipalities, to help state/local budget needs (vs being able to have a separate additional fund in this version, for that purpose).

[Igel]

1. if money was reallocated to,

what was it reallocated from?

And better late than never, I guess.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. That's probably buried in the draft at the moment

There are large tranches of money in the previous 2.2 trillion previous stimulus package(s). From an earlier WaPo breakdown, am thinking these items might be reprogrammable --

What’s in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus Senate stimulus package

By Jeff Stein
March 26, 2020 at 12:00 a.m. EDT

<snip>

TOTAL COST: $280 billion

Hospitals, expanded health-care spending. The legislation also includes hundreds of billions of dollars in funding to help prepare America’s health-care infrastructure for the coronavirus.

The centerpiece of that section of the bill, a key ask of Senate Democrats, is a $100 billion fund for hospitals and providers hit hardest by the outbreak. That money can be used for protective gear for health-care workers, testing supplies and emergency operation centers, among other necessities. The provision was written amid bleak outlooks at many hospitals, particularly in rural America, that fear they will be overrun by a massive influx of patients.

The legislation also increases funding for community health centers; Medicare payments; telehealth and home service; and public health agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

<snip>

TOTAL COST: $175 billion

Other items in the package include $45 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund; $31 billion to support local schools and colleges; $25 billion for the nation’s transit systems; and $25 billion for more food stamp funding.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/26/senate-stimulus-bill-coronavirus-2-trillion-list-what-is-in-it/

Much of the rest in that earlier bill was either direct payments to eligible people, plenty of loans, and lots of tax breaks for businesses (with some funds that had already been designated for state/local use). So not necessarily much "cash" there...

I think what ended up happening (examples noted by Cuomo during his pressers) is that states were buying the PPE, test equipment, etc. (as a large bidder vs each hospital trying to do that individually), and then handing that out to the hospitals (vs individual hospitals trying to do that). So perhaps the states can be reimbursed from the earlier funding (as reprogrammed) that had been designated for hospital use only, since the state used their own non-budgeted money to procure stuff in bulk (at more of a discount due to order size) for their state's medical facilities.

[in2herbs]

2. They need to fix the small business loan program first as too many corps are getting too much

of the money instead of the mom and pop businesses and their workers.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Yeah this will be sweet

They can't print enough money to pay for a quarter of the financial damage done by the virus. Fed Philly Manufacturing index - down 67%. This pandemic will melt balance sheets. In a crash, all debt is extinguished. It's the basic of accounting, debits and credits.

I fear inflation and state and local tax increases following this debacle. School taxes - aren't closed schools cheaper to operate? No heat, no electric, no buses. Where's the savings?

Paying salaries up to $99k at full rate in the stimulus. More than these people would get by filing unemployment. $2400 to married households plus $500 per child.

Little people got shorted again.

Reopenings will be piddling and slow. Retailers will make up for lost time with price increases. Already seeing it online at closed retailers.

[Mr. Sparkle]

4. I hope they are going to help the postal service.

[doc03]

5. So we got the shaft with the aid package when the money was handed out to

big corporations instead of who it was intended for. So now they trust this one will be different. What was it GWB tried to say
"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "What was it GWB tried to say"

He f'd the whole thing up and said -

[flibbitygiblets]

19. Or as Will Ferrel put it: "Shoe me once, shoe's on you. Shoe me twice, I'm keepin' those shoes"

Shoe quote starts at 3:50, but the whole thing is LOL funny.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. LOL

[Fiendish Thingy]

6. Any money for post office and vote by mail? Nt

[FoxNewsSucks]

9. Probably not,

Can't have Democrats win everything, now, can we?

[Galraedia]

11. +1

[The Mouth]

17. Post office needs to be its own bill

That way even the reddest of red state Republicans won't dare vote against it.

I HATE cramming different stuff into the same bill; Let's get help to SMALL BUSINESSES (which employ most Americans), which everyone can get behind and deal with the PO and vote by mail as separate issues.

Left and right should stop cramming everything they want into these big mega bills, the more granular, the better.

[spike jones]

10. When politicials say "small business" and "family farms," they are lying. n/t

[DBoon]

21. They are referring to the penis sizes of the businesses' owner

sorry, couldn't resist

[bluestarone]

12. READ every fucking word!

DON'T trust them!

[old guy]

14. Yes indeed!

Personally, I will reserve judgment for now.

[Galraedia]

13. No stimulus bill should be passed that doesn't provide funding for the post office.

Period. It is absolutely ridiculous to provide large bailouts for big corporations and even more ridiculous to not include any bailout money for the U.S. Postal Service.

[bluestarone]

16. Agree here

[maxrandb]

24. No bill should be passed that doesn't assign 2 Democratic House Members

To look over Mnuchins shoulder with a hammer in one hand as the funds are dispersed.

Fucker shouldn't even be allowed to go to the fucking bathroom unsupervised.

[beachbumbob]

15. we know the last package major giveaways were ignore (or not) by democrats, is this another repeat?

[RussBLib]

18. we keep tossing "billions" around, and then, poof! it's gone

used to be hard to get a few million, now we're talking trillions.

And as usual, the debt shoots sky-high under these "fiscally-conservative" Republicans.

And, as usual, it will take Democrats to piece things back together, with Republicans fighting them every step of the way.

Rinse and repeat

[totodeinhere]

20. I hope that Schumer and the other Democrats don't get rolled again.

That last bill had a lot of goodies for big corporations and banks tucked in it.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/publicly-traded-companies-300-million-small-business-loans-ap_n_5e9eee06c5b6a486d07f3bd5

[sdfernando]

23. I don't trust this...

"Schumer said that Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were in close contact with McConnell during the endgame talks"

I don't trust anything where turtleface was involved. I'm sure there is some other poison in there to benefit the corporate elite and we won't know about it until after the fact.

[maxrandb]

25. Remember when they made Bernie read his entire single payer bill?

Some Democrat needs to require that. EVERY GOD DAMN word and footnote is read.

[totodeinhere]

26. I hope that we don't get rolled again. Will this be another big giveaway to large corporations

and just a few crumbs for the rest of us?