Bipartisan negotiators reached an agreement over the weekend on a coronavirus relief package that would provide desperately needed assistance to struggling households. Rather than one large spending bill, negotiators agreed to introduce two separate bills. The first will total $748 billion and includes $25 billion in rental assistance, a boost to unemployment insurance, small business relief, additional funding for education, and funds for vaccine distribution. The second bill includes $160 billion in aid to state and local governments and business liability waivers, two provisions that have stalled negotiations for days. Both bills are expected to be unveiled today (December 14) and may be attached to an appropriations package at the end of this week.
The broad bipartisan framework gained traction in Congress last week. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) both agreed the framework would provide a new baseline for negotiations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) remains reluctant to consider the legislation.
The White House released on December 8 their own $916 billion relief proposal that contained both funding for state and local governments and liability protections for businesses. The proposal also included another round of stimulus checks, this time offering $600 per eligible adult and $1,200 per eligible couple, financed by shifting $140 billion away from the $180 billion in enhanced unemployment benefits included in the bipartisan package. The proposal was immediately rejected by Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer, who called the plan to cut funding to unemployment insurance “unacceptable.”
Last week, Congress also passed, and President Trump signed, a continuing resolution (CR), extending federal funding another week and buying Congress additional time to reach a deal on both a coronavirus relief package and an appropriations package for fiscal year (FY) 2021. Appropriators in the House and Senate are reportedly wrapping up negotiations on the $1.4 trillion spending bill for FY21, and have until December 18 to pass a final bill, enact another CR, or face a government shutdown over the holidays.
NLIHC is urging advocates to contact their members of Congress today to demand the final coronavirus relief bill include robust housing and homelessness resources and protections, including:
- At least $25 billion for three months of emergency rental assistance targeted to households most at risk of losing their homes this winter;
- An extension of the CDC moratorium; and
- The highest level of funding possible for housing vouchers and Emergency Solutions Grants to address the urgent health and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness.
While far more resources and measures are needed, this immediate relief package is vital to address the health and housing needs of the country’s lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.
Contact your member of Congress: https://tinyurl.com/y4oqpkky
View the outline of the bipartisan proposal at: https://tinyurl.com/y259k7a3