Steven Mnuchin, Mark Meadows and Richard Shelby also announced a deal Wednesday night on the spending portion of the new package.
Senate Republicans started unveiling pieces of their new coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, but negotiators remain undecided on several key issues.
Republican leadership briefed Senate GOP aides on the proposed legislation Wednesday afternoon. The Republican initiative is expected to include a temporary flat payment for unemployment insurance for two months, although the exact amount of the federal contribution wasn’t finalized, according to sources on the call. Beefed-up $600 federal unemployment payments begin expiring at the end of this week, a deadline that has spurred GOP leaders into action.
But GOP leaders also didn’t reveal whether their proposal will include a payroll tax cut, a top priority for President Donald Trump. Several GOP sources said the payroll tax cut “was out,” but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to confirm that as he walked out the Capitol on Wednesday night. Continue reading.