Congress Strikes Deal For Second Round Of $600 Stimulus Checks For Americans

On Sunday, Congress agreed to a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus deal that has been discussed for several months, as announced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” said McConnell, after coming to an agreement following the pause on the Federal Reserve’s lending abilities. “I hope we can do this as quickly as possible.”

Despite the stimulus deal being settled by Congress, the House and Senate will still have to vote on the unreleased legislative text for the deal. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer informed House members that their vote will be on Monday, and although McConnell has yet to state when the Senate will vote, they are expected to do so quickly after the House.

The package has taken months for Congress to negotiate as they struggled to decide what should be included. The pressure to create a new deal increased as the death toll from COVID-19 hit 315,000 this month, and with the addition of critical aid programs expiring on December 26, government relief is more necessary than ever.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi added that the Democrats would pursue more relief once Joe Biden is inaugurated as president in January. She also believes that “there will be some Republican senators that will see the light,” hinting at Republicans in Congress that may be supportive of another stimulus deal in the future, despite being against it at the moment. Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that this was the second-largest stimulus bill in United States history, after the historic CARES Act which was approved last April.

“Make no mistake about it: this agreement is far from perfect,” Schumer shared, “but it will deliver emergency relief to a nation in the throes of a genuine emergency.”