Congress is slated to return to DC on April 20th, depending on the severity of COVID-19. With that in mind, the White House as well as the Senate have been seeking to add another phase of the Coronavirus Stimulus Bill. “Let’s do the same bill we just did, make some changes to make it current,” Pelosi told reporters yesterday.
The proposed aid package was blocked last night in the Senate by the Democrats, stating that the bill was not thorough enough to provide adequate relief. The fourth aid package had recommendations from the White House and Senate Republicans to add an extra $251 billion to the existing aid bill, as well as an extra $10.3 billion to cover processing fees for SBA loans. In return Democrats tried to amend the GOP plan to include $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for state and local governments and an expansion of food assistance, in addition to the small-business funding.
Here are the top issues going into a phase 4 deal:
- White house and Senate Republicans want an additional $251 billion for the lending program enacted under the aid bill
- Extra $10.3 billion to cover SBA fees to pay banks to process loans
- McConnell wants to pass the bill during a pro forma session Today (4/9)
- Democrats want to supplement White house request with another $100 billion for hospitals
- Democrats want to double SNAP money for states, which currently received $150 billion
- Democrats want half of the $250 billion for SBA assistance set aside to firms that have trouble accessing new loans because they don’t have established relationships with traditional lenders
- More dollars loaned to women and minority-owned businesses.
- Pelosi wants an additional $15 billion in direct grants for small businesses, including $50 billion more for disaster relief
The Senate is expected to return to session on Monday, where further discussion on reaching a consensus will be conducted. The Iowa City Area Business Partnership, along with our statewide and national partners, will continue to advocate for additional business recovery programs and legislation.