Update: $2 trillion stimulus package expected to pass Monday, with negotiations still under way

Negotiations on Capitol Hill continued on Saturday for a rescue package that could top more than $2 trillion, according to Trump’s senior economic advisor, Larry Kudlow. 

A package this large – 10% of the country’s GDP – would make it the most expensive fiscal stimulus  in the nation’s history, according to an article by the Washington Post. Part of the proposed budget is intended to go towards emergency lending by the Federal Reserve.

The package would include direct cash payments to Americans earning less than $99,000 per year, or $198,000 jointly. Other features of the bill include $350 billion in assistance to help small businesses with payroll and other expenses, as well as expansion of unemployment insurance. 

The package is expected to be passed on Monday, though many details of the bill are still under negotiation. An $8.3 million package was already passed by Congress earlier this month. 

“The need for drafting legislation is pretty significant now, and the expectation is even if we can’t get to agreement on every piece and part here in the next few hours that the legislative drafters will go ahead and move on to writing legislation…” said Eric Ueland, the White House congressional liaison, in an article by the Wall Street Journal. 

The news comes as approximately 900 million people in 35 countries across the world are currently confined to their homes, according to AFP. The U.S. is seeing a rise in both confirmed cases, up by 36%, and death toll, up by 32%, since Saturday morning. 

“We need to take further steps to continue addressing our nation’s health-care needs,” said Senator Mitch McConnell in an article by the Washington Post. “And we need to help protect American workers, families and small business from this unique economic crisis that threatens to worsen with every single day.”

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/SHUTTERSTOCK