Agreement Reached on Stimulus Deal

By Grand Rapids Anonymous
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 2:10:00 A.M. EDT

Agreement Reached on Stimulus Deal
Senate, White House reach $2 trillion stimulus deal to blunt coronavirus fallout

Both chambers of Congress will aim to pass mammoth legislation swiftly.

Senators are racing to thrash out a massive coronavirus spending bill before Congress is forced to shut down. (Zach Purser Brown/The Washington Post)

By Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Jeff Stein
March 25, 2020 at 1:37 a.m. EDT

Senate leaders and the Trump administration reached agreement early Wednesday on a $2 trillion stimulus package to rescue the economy from the coronavirus assault, potentially setting the stage for swift passage of the massive legislation through both chambers of Congress.

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

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) were expected to discuss the breakthrough on the Senate floor shortly, after a long day of talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Ueland and others.

The agreement capped five straight days of intensive negotiations that occasionally descended into partisan warfare as the nation’s economy reeled from the deadly pandemic, with schools and businesses closed, mass layoffs slamming the workforce, and tens of thousands falling ill.

The legislation, unprecedented in its size and scope, aims to flood the economy with capital by sending $1,200 checks to many Americans, creating a $367 billion loan program for small businesses, and setting up a $500 billion fund for industries, cities and states.
--GRA