Congress reaches deal on relief bill replenishing small business fund


Congress has come to an agreement on a new coronavirus relief package, with the Senate passing it Tuesday evening by a voice vote.
The House is expected to vote on the package Thursday. The bill's price tag comes out to $484 billion, with about $320 billion going to the Paycheck Protection Program after the fund for small business loans recently ran out of money, Politico reports. Additionally, the bill includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing.
It doesn't, however, include additional funding for state and local governments as Democrats sought, The New York Times reports.
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"Republicans fended off money for state and local governments that Democrats wanted and also got more for small businesses than previously requested," Politico writes. "Democrats, meanwhile, were able to deliver on more money for hospitals and testing that they'd requested."
The bill, Axios notes, also has "carve-outs so that community businesses and lenders don't have to fight bigger businesses and banks for the same funding," something Democrats had been pushing for as well.
This is a breaking news story and has been updated throughout.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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