Senate Republicans are expected to announce the last coronavirus relief bill before the 2020 election and August recess, and two weeks before the expiration of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.
As COVID-19 cases across the country are on the rise, House Democrats, Senate Republicans and the Trump administration are all at odds with one another. After blocking a relief bill passed by House Democrats, Senate Republicans began drafting their own bill.
If Senate GOP leaders are successful this week, their bill will be the latest of six relief bills since March. While the first coronavirus bill, led by House Democrats, cost the U.S. $2.2 trillion, the White House is asking to keep the next bill at $1 trillion.
HEROES Act stalls in the Senate
In May, House Democrats passed the HEROES Act, which would have expanded COVID-19 relief across the board, but also expanded and modified Medicaid and Medicare as well as immigration, among other things. The Senate has since blocked the legislation from going any further.
