Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled two votes on his versions of the coronavirus relief for next week, attempting to revive a dead horse that couldn’t pass the Senate during a September session, Politico reports.
One of the bills, slated for a vote on Tuesday, will extend the Paycheck Protection Program, which pays businesses to keep employees on payroll, at a time when first time unemployment claims are 500% higher than the same point last year. There is still $134 billion unspent from the PPP Program passed in March.
The other bill, scheduled for a Wednesday vote, will include other proposals, including a $300 federal supplement for unemployment recipients, funding to get schools reopened and resources to improve coronavirus testing.
McConnell, the republican leader in the Senate, has been cut out of negotiations between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin because he’s been unable to get a consensus among his own caucus.