Dec. 1, 2020 Bipartisan, Bicameral Covid-19 Proposal Includes $10B for Broadband the $908 Billion Bipartisan, Bicameral Proposal

Dec. 1, 2020

Bipartisan, Bicameral Covid-19 Proposal Includes $10B for Broadband

The $908 billion bipartisan, bicameral proposal for a COVID-19 emergency relief framework unveiled by Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) and Tom Reed (R., N.Y.), among others, includes $10 billion for “broadband,” according to a high-level chart categorizing the various areas covered by the proposal.

In response to a request for further details on how the broadband funds would be allocated, Sen. Manchin’s office said the details were still being finalized.

The bulk of the proposed relief would go to support small businesses; fund additional unemployment insurance; and support state, local, and tribal governments. Another of the supporters, Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah), emphasized during a press conference this morning that the proposal is “not a stimulus bill; it’s a relief bill.”

Sen. Manchin said that the group, who are members of the 50-member Problem Solvers Caucus, have not received any assurances from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) that their proposal would receive a floor vote in either chamber.

In a statement this afternoon following a phone call with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Speaker Pelosi said he told her that “he would be reviewing the [Covid-19 relief] proposal [Senate Minority] Leader [Chuck] Schumer [D., N.Y.] and I made to Leader McConnell and Leader McCarthy last night and the bipartisan Senate proposal unveiled today. Additional COVID relief is long overdue and must be passed in this lame duck session.”

According to a joint press release from Sen. Manchin and other supporters of the $908 billion proposal, the Problem Solvers Caucus supports the proposal. —Lynn Stanton, [email protected]