March 18, 2020 – Congressional leaders and White House officials began work on a massive coronavirus relief bill that could contain major economic stimulus for corporations and consumers. Could it take a pandemic such as coronavirus/COVID-19 to finally get an infrastructure bill passed?
On a House Democratic conference call, House committee chairs discussed ideas including: cash payments to individuals; infrastructure investments; expanded Medicaid spending; anti-price-gouging measures; airline industry support; and assistance to local transit agencies and Amtrak, according to the Washington Post.
First, though, the Senate must act on legislation passed by the House that devotes tens of billions of dollars to new paid sick leave benefits, unemployment insurance, free coronavirus testing, and food safety programs. The legislation – which passed after a flurry of last-minute negotiations – required technical changes that threatened to hold up Senate action. Those legislative fixes were finally hammered out and passed by the House.