White House And Congress Come To Agreement On $2 Trillion Emergency Bill

Early Wednesday, Senate leaders of both major political parties and the White House announced they have come to an agree on a $2 trillion emergency bill. This money will aid businesses, workers and the health care system effected by the coronavirus pandemic.

White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland told reporters around 1 a.m Wednesday morning, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are done. We have a deal.”

This unprecedented economic rescue package, which is the largest rescue package in U.S. history, will give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide a $367 billion program for small businesses to continue making payroll while workers are forced to stay home.

The plan says that individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each. Married couples earning up to $150,000 will receive $2,400 plus an additional $500 per child. The payment would scale down by income and phase out entirely at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children. Full details of the emergency are expected to be released later on Wednesday.

The total breakdown of most of the money should look like this:

• $250 billion for direct payments to individuals and families
• $350 billion in small business loans
• $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits
• $500 billion in loans for distressed companies