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COVID-19 Congressional Response December 1, 2020

This morning, a bipartisan group of Senators released a COVID-19 aid framework with the goal of restarting stalled negotiations. The group included Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH),

Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Angus King (I-ME), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and members from the bipartisan House Problem

Solvers Caucus. The framework totals $908 billion and includes the following highlights:

• $180 billion in additional unemployment insurance, including an extra $300 a week federal benefit for 18 weeks;

• $160 billion for state, local and tribal governments;

• $288 billion for small business aid programs like the Paycheck Protection Program;

• $16 billion for testing, tracing, vaccine development and distribution;

• $45 billion for airlines and mass transit;

• extension of student loan payment deferrals and rental housing assistance and;

• a liability provision to provide short term Federal protection from Coronavirus related lawsuits with the purpose of giving states

time to develop their own response.

The bill repurposes $560 billion in CARES Act funding and $348 billion is new money. The price tag is intentionally half of the $1.8 trillion

White House offer and much less than Speaker Pelosi’s $2 trillion top line number. Leadership from neither chamber nor party has voiced support for the framework. The proposal has been compared to a similar framework released by the House Problem Solvers Caucus back in September, which led to no progress. Without support from congressional leaders or the White House, the path forward for today’s framework is uncertain.