Sen. Mitt Romney, senators make another run at $908B coronavirus relief package

As the first Americans received COVID-19 vaccines Monday, a group of senators, including Utah Republican Mitt Romney, unveiled a revised bipartisan $908 billion relief package they hope will bring economic stability to people across the country.

The proposal is split into two bills — one would provide $748 billion for support for small businesses, including Payroll Protection Program loans, added unemployment benefits and food and shelter assistance.

The other would provide $160 billion for state and local government as well as temporary liability protection from coronavirus related-lawsuits. Those two issues have been major sticking points in reaching a deal as the clock ticks on the current Congress.

“Now it’s up to the leadership to take it and make this happen,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V.

It is unclear what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., intend to do with the proposal.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said there’s no excuse for them to not put it up for a vote.

“Don’t let us go home for Christmas without a vote on this,” he said. “Maybe you’ve got something better. Be my guest.”

The six Senate Democrats and six Republicans who negotiated the package along with several House members announced the new plan at a news conference in Washington, D.C. The Problem Solvers Caucus in the House — which is made up of 50 Democrats and Republicans, including Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah — also supports the plan.

Lawmakers said they hope to get a package passed before Congress adjourns this week, including possibly merging the two bills, and again vowed to work through Christmas if necessary.

“Our purpose was to get something to happen,” Romney said in a conference call with Utah reporters. “We’re going to keep on calling for this as aggressively as we can.”

Romney said it’s more of an emergency aid package than it is an economic stimulus plan.

“It’s designed to provide relief to people who really need it,” he said.

The bill includes $300 billion to extend the Paycheck Protection Program, and businesses that previously received money would be eligible again. It would provide an additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits totaling $180 billion through March 2021 as millions of Americans are set to lose unemployment insurance the day after Christmas.

The bill also would suspend student loan payments.

The numbers didn’t change from the proposal the group touted two weeks ago but the senators wrangled over how the $82 billion for education or the $45 billion for transportation would specifically be divided, for example.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called the deal a “Christmas miracle.” She said she hopes it will spur Senate and House leaders on both sides of the aisle and the White House to use the group’s work as the basis for a relief package.

“These bills are comprehensive but they don’t cover everything everyone would want,” she said, adding Congress might have to still do more during the course of the pandemic.

Romney said there’s a lot of things that he would change in the proposal if he could, but the country is facing an emergency.

Most Republicans oppose giving more money to state and local government, while Democrats dug in against liability protection. But, he said, both sides were willing to give to reach a compromise.

“So that’s the trade-off,” he said.

Still, Manchin was the only Democrat to buy off on the second bill, while others want to continue negotiations on that piece.

“We Republicans feel before we’re going to send out $160 billion in state and local aid, we want to see very serious, thoughtful liability protections that protect hospitals, doctors, small businesses and others,” he said.

The government, Romney said, was “all over the map” on how to deal with COVID-19 and employers and health care professionals shouldn’t held liable unless gross negligence could be shown.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the proposals get assistance to Americans who are in desperate need. He said it would be “Scrooge-like” if Congress went home and people lost their jobs or apartments the day after Christmas or New Year’s.