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Editor's Note: Below is an exclusive complimentary research note written on 12/15 by Senior Policy analyst JT Taylor. To get access of more Macro Policy research, please email sales@hedgeye.com. |
OMNIBUS SPENDING | COVID-19 RELIEF
Appropriators are working to wrap all 12 FY 2021 spending bills into an omnibus package, which could be unveiled today.
If a deal can be hammered out on the Covid-relief package, that legislation would be tacked onto the omnibus, as would a tax extenders bill and possibly an agreement dealing with surprise medical bills. There’s also talk that an energy bill could be added as well.
Whether there will be a deal this week on the Covid package is still uncertain. Late yesterday, a bipartisan group of Senators announced details of a $908-billion plan that they divided into two parts – a $748-billion proposal to provide funding for a wide variety of programs and a $160-billion measure to fund aid to state and local governments and provide liability protection for businesses.
The Senators hope House and Senate leaders will use this bipartisan legislation as a basis for a Covid-relief package that will be passed before Congress adjourns for the year.
Included in the $748-billion bill are funds for an additional $300 per week in unemployment benefits for 16 weeks; $45 billion for the transportation sector, including $17 billion for the airline Payroll Support Program; $300 billion for an expanded Paycheck Protection Program; and $16 billion for testing, tracing, and vaccine development and distribution.
In an effort to resolve Republican concerns over additional aid to state and local governments, the proposal sets up a formula for distribution of the $160 billion in the second part of the package, with two-thirds of the funding based on revenue losses and one-third based on a state’s population. None of the aid can be used to replenish pension funds.
While there is bipartisan support for the $748-billion proposal, Democrats still have concerns with the liability protection provisions. According to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, lawmakers need to find a middle ground that is fair to both businesses and workers.