Senate pushes vote on interim coronavirus funding as talks continue

Mitch McConnell. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

The Senate voted via unanimous consent on Monday to hold another pro forma session Tuesday afternoon, giving the White House and Congress another day to hammer out the details of the interim coronavirus spending package.

Why it matters: A vote on the bill is expected tomorrow, but the Trump administration and House and Senate leadership were hopeful they would reach a deal this morning to replenish the small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and deliver billions of emergency funding for hospitals and testing.

  • Negotiations over the specifics in the bill, including how the new money for hospitals and expanded federal testing will be administered and how it will be split up among the public and private sectors, are ongoing.

Details: The main details of the bill, as Axios reported on Sunday, remain the same.

  • The bill is still expected to include at least $300 billion more for the PPP, $75 billion for hospitals, $50 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and $25 billion to expand coronavirus testing.
  • Tomorrow's pro forma session is scheduled for 4pm.

What we're hearing: Senior House and Senate aides tell Axios they are confident a deal will be reached in the next 24 hours — and that the bill will be signed into law by the end of the week.

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