The Democratic-led House on Thursday evening approved a $484 billion measure that provides additional money for a coronavirus aid program for small businesses, following the Republican-run Senate’s passage of the legislation on Tuesday.
The bill received overwhelming support, with 388 votes in favor of it and only five against it, according to preliminary tallies. President Donald Trump was expected to sign the legislation into law quickly.
The measure, which comes after extensive negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, contains about $320 billion for a Paycheck Protection Program meant to help small businesses. It also has about $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for coronavirus testing and $60 billion for the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
House lawmakers returned to Washington for a roll-call vote on the bill, called the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. Many legislators wore face masks as they gave speeches on the chamber’s floor, and they voted in groups in an extended process in order to keep their distance from each other amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Related:House lawmakers disagree on exactly when to wear face masks
And see:House postpones consideration of remote voting during coronavirus pandemic
The office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat, had indicated earlier in the week that it did not anticipate that House Republicans would allow passage to occur by a voice vote, therefore a recorded vote was likely.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky posted a celebratory tweet about having a recorded vote rather than a voice vote, saying he “stood alone” a month ago but dozens of lawmakers were with him Thursday. Massie had failed to get a roll-call vote on March 27 as the House approved a $2.2 trillion relief package, the CARES Act.
“Thank you @RepKevinBrady for supporting congressional transparency by requesting the recorded vote on this enormous bailout package,” Massie said in a tweet on Thursday, referring to a top Republican from Texas.
Massie was among the few lawmakers who voted against the bill. Influential Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York also didn’t support the measure after saying that GOP lawmakers were failing to “fix this bill for mom and pops.”
Related:AOC states ‘declaratively’ that she supports Biden over Trump
The PPP initially received $350 billion last month and drew strong demand, with many small businesses reporting problems in getting loans even as scores of public companies obtained aid. The program ran out of money last week, and the Trump administration and lawmakers on Tuesday reached a deal to replenish it.
The Treasury Department on Thursday gave big public companies a May 7 deadline to return their PPP loans, saying that aid is not intended for large enterprises “with access to capital markets.”
The more than $300 billion set aside this week to replenish the PPP is likely already all spoken for, banking industry groups said Wednesday.
Read more:Here are the public companies that got coronavirus aid meant for small businesses
Washington also has turned to battling over another coronavirus aid package. Top Democratic lawmakers are calling for a big package while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, is urging restraint — especially when it comes to more aid for state and local governments.
Related:There has been almost no oversight of CARES Act spending, says former TARP watchdog
Also read:How Congress is spending trillions in response to the coronavirus crisis — in one chart
U.S. stocks DJIA, +0.16% SPX, -0.05% are trading well below their February peaks because of coronavirus-related worries, but they have rallied from their recent lows thanks in part to optimism around Washington’s aid efforts. The S&P 500 closed slight lower on Thursday, while the Dow edged up.
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