Lawmakers reach deal on $900 billion COVID-19 relief package

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published 20 December 2020

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday evening announced lawmakers have finalized a bipartisan $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package.

"More help is on the way," McConnell said. "Moments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders of the Senate and House finalized an agreement for another major rescue package for the American people." McConnell said lawmakers are now working to "promptly finalize text" and "avoid any last minute obstacles."

The deal includes $600 stimulus checks for qualifying Americans, two people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post, with Congress also extending unemployment benefits of up to $300 per week. Negotiators have been working on trying to reach a deal since the summer. Several benefits that were part of the CARES Act — the first coronavirus relief bill passed in March — are set to lapse before the end of the year.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.