Senate expected to deadlock on latest coronavirus relief legislation for small businesses
Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican effort to add $250 billion to an overwhelmed small business loan program, the latest political standoff in the weeks-long effort to pump trillions of federal dollars to businesses and families dealing with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Congress already approved $350 billion for the paycheck program — money that is quickly running out as small businesses have flooded local banks to apply. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin requested that congressional leaders approve the additional funding.Democrats objected to the resulting legislation proposed by McConnell and McConnell objected to the Democrats’ counterproposal, leading to the current stalemate.
Mnuchin, in a CNBC interview, said President Trump is willing to address some of Democrats’ concerns in the next bill. The standoff — between Republicans who want to respond to the crisis in a piecemeal fashion and Democrats who want more comprehensive bills — is a glimpse of the ongoing debate over how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.
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