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December 17, 2020

Lawmakers Near Deal on $900B Coronavirus Relief Bill as U.S. Poverty Surges
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On Capitol Hill, lawmakers appear close to passing a second, $900
billion COVID-19 stimulus package after months of deadlock. The bill is
likely to include additional unemployment assistance of $300 a week and
one-off payments of between $600 and $700 - half the amount from the
first stimulus package. The measure will not include the Democrats'
desired $160 billion for state and local aid as a compromise for
excluding the financial liability protections for corporations that
Republicans have been pushing for for months.

This comes as new data shows the U.S. poverty rate has surged in recent
months, with close to 8 million people pushed into poverty since the
summer. It's by far the largest jump since the government began tracking
poverty data 60 years ago.


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