Democrats appear to have struck a deal with the White House on the coronavirus package

Now Congress needs to vote on it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday night she was close to a deal with the White House on a coronavirus relief package after a full day of negotiating with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. As of Friday, that deal appears to have been struck.

“We resolved most of our differences, and those we haven’t we will continue the conversation, because there will obviously be other bills,” Pelosi told reporters.

The House is expected to vote on a multibillion-dollar coronavirus relief package Friday afternoon and send it over to the Senate (the upper chamber has canceled its planned recess to take up the coronavirus relief bill on Monday). But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are watching to see if President Donald Trump voices support, and House Republicans are reportedly nervous to back the bill unless they get a green light from the president.

Importantly, Friday’s bill won’t be the last stimulus or relief package Congress takes up; Pelosi alluded to the House beginning work on a “third emergency response package” in a letter to her House colleagues. Congress already passed an $8.3 billion aid package last week to help fund research and vaccine development.

For the package under consideration today, Pelosi’s focus is on expanding paid sick leave and family leave to Americans impacted by Covid-19, as well as ensuring free coronavirus testing.

“It’s about paid sick leave. It’s about family medical leave. It’s about unemployment insurance,” Pelosi added, emphasizing the Democratic priorities in the bill. “It’s about feeding … our children who are out of school and need to be fed. It’s about seniors and people with disabilities.”

Despite Senate and House Republicans balking at some of the proposals in Democrats’ first draft of their bill, and despite President Donald Trump using Twitter Friday morning to lobby for his desired payroll tax cut — Mnuchin sounded optimistic in a CNBC interview Friday morning.

“I think we’re very close to getting this done,” Mnuchin said. “The president is absolutely committed that this will be an entire government effort, that we will be working with the House and Senate.”

What’s in the House coronavirus relief package

House Democrats’ opening bid was an expansive relief package, which Republicans objected to over two provisions: paid sick leave and paid leave.

Democrats had initially included a provision establishing a permanent paid leave program in case of public health emergencies, that would have required businesses to offer 14 days of paid leave to their workers (the provision also would have provided a refundable tax credit for small businesses to assist with costs). Democrats also wanted to create a permanent paid sick leave program, which Republicans wanted to be temporary to deal with the current coronavirus emergency.

“There are things in there that had nothing to do of what we are talking about,” Trump said Thursday. “It is not a way for them to get some of the goodies they haven’t been able to get for the last 25 years.”

Ironically, Trump appeared to still be fixated on the idea of a payroll tax cut on Friday — something he has been floating for the past week. Democrats objected because the payroll tax cut would likely benefit only companies and a subset of workers, and would not help those already laid off due to the coronavirus and its economic impact. A senior House Democrat called the idea a “nonstarter,” and even members of Trump’s party expressed skepticism that a payroll tax cut would be effective.

Here’s are the main provisions of the House relief package thus far. These will be updated once the latest bill text is released.

• Emergency paid sick days: The bill would require all employers to accrue seven days of paid sick leave and provide an additional 14 days to be available immediately during the coronavirus (many employers are asking employees to work from home for that amount of time). It ensures sick leave to those impacted by quarantine orders, or those who must stay home to care for their children. The bill reimburses small businesses (those with 50 or fewer employees) for the cost of the 14 additional days of leave.
• Emergency paid leave: The bill would create a new federal emergency paid leave program for those unable to work because they have Covid-19, are quarantined, are caring for someone with the disease, or are caring for a child due to coronavirus-related school closings. Eligible workers would receive benefits for a month (the program goes up to three months), and the benefit amount would be two-thirds of the individual’s average monthly earnings. Those receiving pay or unemployment compensation directly through their employers aren’t eligible. There is some precedent for this: Congress expanded unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks for Americans left unemployed by the 2008 financial crisis.
• Expanded unemployment insurance: The bill would direct $2 billion to state unemployment insurance programs and waive measures like work search requirements or waiting weeks to those either diagnosed with Covid-19, or those who have lost their jobs due to the spread of the virus.
• Expanding food security: The bill would direct $1 billion to expanding access to programs like WIC and the emergency food assistance program throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Progressive economists have long believed that expanding existing safety net programs is a highly effective way of stimulating the economy because the low-income people who benefit from them are highly likely to immediately spend any extra money they get — helping stabilize economy-wide demand. The 2009 stimulus bill featured many provisions along these lines. Conservatives, who are critical of those programs in general, tend to be highly skeptical of putting more money into them.
• Free coronavirus testing: Democratic leaders propose making coronavirus testing free to increase access by requiring private health insurers (plus government programs like Medicare and Medicaid) to cover the cost of testing, including emergency room visits and doctor fees. Free testing is being offered in a number of states, but there’s no federal regulation mandating it so far.
• Increasing the capacity of the US medical system and ensuring affordable treatment: The bill also calls on insurance providers to reimburse coronavirus patients for any non-covered costs related to Covid-19. Again, they’re hoping this gets more people treated and makes it so people don’t put off going to the doctor because they are worried about costs.

Timeline and what could come next

As the House is preparing to pass the bill Friday afternoon, the Senate has left Capitol Hill for the weekend. That means the full Congress won’t pass this bill until Monday at the earliest, unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calls senators back early.

On Thursday, McConnell canceled a previously scheduled Senate recess slated for next week to vote on the bill. But time is of the essence with a rapidly spreading virus, especially since this bill deals with things like free coronavirus testing. Public health officials fear even a few days of delay could hurt the country’s overall response.

Even after this bill is passed, Congress’s response to the coronavirus is far from over. In her remarks to reporters and her letter to House members, Pelosi mentioned there would be future bills to help combat the crisis.

These could be more economic stimulus measures targeted toward industries hit hard by the coronavirus, including the travel and airline industries, Mnuchin said during his CNBC interview. The White House is also considering temporarily suspending student loan payments for three months, Mnuchin added.

“That’s on our list of 50 different items we’re bringing to the president for a decision, so that will be something we’re looking at,” Mnuchin said.

Note: This is a developing story, and will be updated as new details become available.