Schumer, Toomey resolve COVID-19 relief sticking point, potentially setting stage for vote
![Chuck Schumer.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ezttzcPnc64z7bERkiqAoi-1024-80.jpg)
The Senate appeared to reach a major breakthrough in COVID-19 relief negotiations late Saturday, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he believes both the House and Senate will vote on a package Sunday so long as "nothing gets in the way."
Schumer and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) were finishing up details of a compromise that seemingly resolves a sticking point about the Federal Reserve's ability to set up emergency lending programs without congressional approval, which Toomey wanted to restrict. Under the deal, The Wall Street Journal reports, the central bank wouldn't lose that power, but its options would be narrower — the Fed wouldn't be able to replicate programs identical to the ones it started in March unless Congress signed off.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the resolution means "we can begin closing out the rest of the package to deliver much-needed relief to families, workers, and businesses."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
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.
The finer details of the $900 billion proposal are still unclear, and talks could still hit a snag over certain issues, but should it go through, per CNN, the bill is expected to include $300 per week in enhanced unemployment benefits, $600 direct payments for individuals, $330 billion for small business loans, more than $80 billion for schools, and billions more for COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Read more at CNN and The Wall Street Journal.
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.
-
'Orange juice also is facing a grander existential problem'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
5 of the scariest spiders in existence
The Explainer These creepy crawlers can be deadly
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
How Trump's executive orders are threatening scientific research
In the spotlight Agencies are purging important health information
By Devika Rao, 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
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published