Senate leaders and the Trump administration neared bipartisan agreement Monday night on a massive stimulus bill that could inject $2 trillion into the economy to blunt the impacts of the coronavirus, the Washington Post reported. After hours of negotiations that wrapped up shortly before midnight, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin prepared to leave the Capitol without a deal in hand, but optimistic they could announce one today. Mnuchin said that there are “still documents that are going to be reviewed tonight and are going to be turned around,” but added that he was “very hopeful” of a deal Tuesday morning. Overall, the legislation is aimed at flooding the economy with capital to revive businesses and households that have been knocked off course by fears about the virus’s rapid spread. Though details remained fluid, the legislation would include direct payments of $1,200 to many American adults and $500 to children, and would create roughly $850 billion in loan and assistance programs for businesses, states and cities. There would also be large spending increases for the unemployment insurance program, as well as hospitals and health-care providers that are being overwhelmed by the crisis. Democratic concerns have focused on a $500 billion funding program Republicans want to create for loans and loan guarantees, with some Democrats calling it a “slush fund” that lacks any oversight because the Treasury Department would have broad discretion over who receives the money. Asked about this yesterday, Trump responded, “I’ll be the oversight.”
