Bipartisan Senate group pushes $908 billion COVID-19 relief bill

A bipartisan group of centrist lawmakers — including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — are pushing a $908 billion stimulus plan that would provide more pandemic relief to Americans.
The price tag is similar to the shot-down $1 trillion package put forth by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in July but the new framework, Romney said in a Tuesday press conference, would repurpose funds from the CARES Act, meaning that less than half the total figure is new money.
The proposal doesn't include another round of stimulus checks, but it does offer $300 weekly unemployment benefits and earmarks $160 billion in aid for state, local, and tribal governments, another sticking point in talks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It remains to be seen whether McConnell will bring the bill to the floor, or if Democratic leadership will be open to the smaller plan.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Amazon's James Bond deal could mean a new future for 007
In the Spotlight The franchise had previously been owned by the Broccoli family for its entirety
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why are Republicans suddenly panicking about DOGE?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Trump and Musk take a chainsaw to the federal government, a growing number of Republicans worry that the massive cuts are hitting a little too close to home
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What is JD Vance's Net Worth?
In Depth The vice president is rich. But not nearly as wealthy as his boss and many of his boss' appointees
By David Faris Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
Speed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk
Speed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published