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Senate Democrats and White House reps are poised to announce a deal on another massive coronavirus bill that would replenish small-business loans and fund medical responses to the pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his support for the deal on Tuesday afternoon, all but ensuring the package will pass the Senate in a bipartisan fashion when it meets for a 4 p.m. session.
“I am encouraged that Democratic leaders have finally agreed to reopen the Paycheck Protection Program and abandon a number of their unrelated demands,” McConnell wrote in a statement.
Two Capitol Hill sources told The Post the legislation was expected to total $470 billion, with funds going primarily to the Small Business Administration but also to hospitals and a new virus testing initiative.
The final package totalled more than $484 billion, nudged higher by accounting for administrative costs.
It’s the fourth massive federal package to address the crisis following a more than $2 trillion stimulus bill passed last month.
The new legislation could pass the Senate as early as Tuesday afternoon, with a House vote as early as Thursday. The core of the bill is an expansion of the small-business Paycheck Protection Program that ran out of money last week.
Democrats halted an expansion of the loan program this month, and won about $220 billion in additional funds.
Sources in Democratic and Republican Senate leadership teams told The Post the deal includes $75 billion for health care facilities and $25 billion for a national testing effort.
The deal also includes a $60 billion set-aside for small banks, credit unions and other community lenders to expand the PPP to more businesses, including those without bank accounts.
Another $50 billion goes to the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and $10 billion to the SBA’s Emergency Economic Injury Grant program, sources said.
A Republican leadership aide pointed out the package does not include additional funds for state and local governments — an original Democratic demand.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) brokered the agreement with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was involved in the process, two sources told The Post, to make sure Republicans drove a hard bargain.
An initial $350 billion for the PPP was approved last month in the more than $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. The small-business program allows companies with up to 500 employees, and in some cases more, to have loans forgiven if they don’t lay off workers.
The $2 trillion stimulus bill also included a $500 billion loan program for businesses run by the Treasury Department, a $600-per-week boost in unemployment, and $1,200 direct payments to Americans earning up to $75,000.
The White House declined comment.
House passage of the new bill may be complicated by back-bench opposition in both parties. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he may force lawmakers to return for an in-person vote, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said Monday she may oppose the deal.
