Coronavirus aid package adopted by House and approved by Trump awaits Senate vote

A coronavirus lighting package passed the house 363-40-1 early Saturday, after hours of negotiations between speaker Nancy Pelosi and Finance Minister Stephen Mnuchin. The bill received unanimous support from democratic legislators and mixed support from Republicans. Representative Justin Amash (I-MI), an independent, cast the only abstention vote.

The law includes provisions for two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid leave for workers affected by the virus, giving small and medium-sized businesses a tax credit to pay the benefits. It also offers additional funding for state Medicaid programs, as well as free coronavirus testing for patients who need a test.

The bill has been approved by President Trump and is likely to pass the Senate as soon as the Chamber is back in session.

However, many in Congress are concerned that the Senate will not vote on the bill soon enough. The room has been in intermission since Thursday and will not meet until Monday. The number of cases of the virus keeps climbing Test kits are still largely unavailable across the country, leading some Democratic senators to call for an emergency session to vote on the law.

“In order for the Senate to vote on the sick leave bill this weekend (and we should), McConnell must now call us back at the session,” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted. “Senators have to get on flights back to DC today.”

Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii tweeted “Leader McConnell sent us out of the session from Thursday evening to Monday evening. Time is of the essence. Let’s get this over with now. “

Pelosi said in a statement to House Democrats that although her party could have passed the law without Republican support – given the majority of the Democrat House – she wanted the two sides to show that they could “work together to manage this crisis.”

Trump tweeted his support for the deal shortly after the House vote. “This bill follows my directions for free CoronaVirus testing and paid sick leave for our affected US workers,” the president tweeted. “I look forward to signing the final invoice as soon as possible!”

It wasn’t clear on Saturday exactly when the Senate would vote on the legislation, but majority leader Mitch McConnell had already canceled a Senate break scheduled for this week. McConnell had expressed his doubts on previous versions of the legislation and said the initial draft was “off-base” and not “aimed immediate relief at affected Americans”.

On Saturday morning, however, McConnell said he expected the law to pass the Senate. “I think the vast majority of senators on both sides agree that we need to act quickly to help US workers, families and small businesses,” he wrote in a prepared statement.

President Trump declared a national emergency over the corona virus on Friday.