At a press conference today, a bipartisan group of Senators and members of the House Problem Solvers Caucus unveiled the legislative language of the virus relief package they hammered out over the past several weeks. The group's virus relief efforts and proposals have not been fully endorsed by congressional leadership, but the plan they fleshed out today reflects demonstrable progress.

A key supporter of the effort, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), said the bipartisan package should serve as the basis for a wider agreement. Party leaders in the House and Senate all agree that a relief package needs to be ironed out and sent to the President before Congress departs for the year. Time pressure may be the deciding factor, as Congress hopes to finish its work by Friday.

The $908 billion legislation unveiled today is divided into two bills. The first is titled the Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act. It embodies the areas of broad agreement on emergency assistance for families, workers and small businesses.

As explained in a summary, the first bill includes $748 billion in funding for the following:

• Extension of all unemployment assistance for 16 weeks, with a $300 weekly supplemental payment
• $300 billion for a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, including language that would countermand IRS Notice 2020-32 to ensure that business expenses paid for with the proceeds of PPP loans are tax deductible
• $82 billion for education
• $45 billion for transportation
• $13 billion for food assistance
• $13 billion for farmers, ranchers, and fisheries
• ​$25 billion for rental assistance and an extended eviction moratorium
• Student loan forbearance through April 1, 2021
• $35 billion for health care providers
• $26 billion for virus testing
• $12 billion for low-income communities
• ​$5 billion for mental health and substance abuse treatment
• $10 billion for child care
• $10 billion for broadband
• $10 billion for loan forgiveness for the U.S. Postal Service.

The legislative text of this first bill is posted here.

The second bill covers the two policy areas that have been more contentious among members of the group (i.e., liability protection and additional aid to states, localities and tribal governments).

As summarized by the group, the $160 billion assistance package is divided into three major funding areas: $91.2 billion for states; $60.8 billion for localities; and $8 billion for tribal governments. States would be barred from using any of the federal assistance to fund public pensions.

On liability protection, a summary of the provisions explains that the bill would:

• Set a national gross negligence standard for virus exposure, medical malpractice and workplace testing claims
• Allow plaintiffs to file in state court
• Give defendants the option to remove cases to federal court
• Allow the Attorney General to police against meritless demand letters
• Protect employers that make good faith efforts to conform to public health standards
• Ensure that employers using contractors on virus safety compliance are not necessarily engaged in an employer-employee relationship
• Apply these protections from December 2019 through the later of one year after enactment or the end of the current public health emergency

Today's press conference on the legislative package led by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME) is posted here.

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