Congress finally agrees on Covid relief bill

U.S. lawmakers have agreed to provide a $900-billion Covid-19 relief package to businesses and households.

Barbara Sprunt from NPR reported:

After months of partisan squabbling, congressional leaders have reached agreement on a nearly $900 billion COVID-19 relief package.

“At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor Sunday evening.

“As our citizens continue battling the coronavirus this holiday season, they will not be fighting alone,” he added.

Alicia Adamczyk from CNBC wrote:

The nearly $1 trillion Covid-19 relief bill will include a second stimulus check of up to $600 for many Americans, an extra $300 in enhanced unemployment insurance for 11 weeks, the continuation of key jobless programs and funding for food and rental assistance, among other provisions, lawmakers announced Sunday night.

Manu Raju and Clare Foran from CNN noted:

In a joint statement on the deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “We are going to crush the virus and put money in the pockets of the American people.”

The full details of what will be in the relief package have yet to be released, however, the package is expected to include $600 direct stimulus payment for Americans under a certain income level, among many other programs aimed at helping the economic fallout of the pandemic.