Senate approves $484B relief package for small business, hospitals, testing
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation putting another $310 billion into the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program designed to extend loans to small business owners to help retain their employees for two months and keep their companies afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The overall deal tops $484 billion, with the House expected to vote on it Thursday.
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The agreement also adds $60 billion for the Small Business Administration’s disaster relief fund. Farms and other agriculture enterprises would now be considered eligible.
It also provides an additional $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion for testing, including resources for states. About $11 billion dedicated to testing will be given to states and localities "to develop, purchase, administer, process and analyze COVID-19 tests."
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This comes just weeks after Congress approved a $2 trillion stimulus package, the largest relief measure in American history.