Senator Joe Manchin, DW.V., speaks with a bipartisan group of Democrat and Republican members of Congress as they announce a proposal for a Covid-19 bill on Capitol Hill on December 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. Chambers released a $ 908 billion package on Monday, split into two bills.
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$ 300 a week
The $ 300 weekly increase in benefits would not be retroactive. The federal government would pay the subsidy for each period of unemployment from December 26 to April 19.
PUA and PEUC programs expanded
The bipartisan legislation, the Bipartisan COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act of 2020, would also spend an additional 16 weeks of unemployment benefits through two temporary federal programs due to expire in about a week and a half.
One such program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, provides assistance to the self-employed, giants, freelancers and other workers who typically cannot receive unemployed assistance from states.
The other, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, provides an additional 13 weeks of government benefits, typically lasting up to six months.
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The two programs will be extended until April 19 if the bill is passed.
Aside from unemployment benefits, the $ 748 billion legislation has other help valves such as small business support, childcare grants, rental assistance, and student loan reductions.
The bipartisan group of senators has issued a second $ 160 billion bill that includes funding for state and local governments and corporate liability protection against coronavirus-related lawsuits.
Together, the bills offer $ 908 billion.