December 22, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Running out of time and excuses, Congress took up a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Lawmakers tacked on a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages of other end-of-session business in a massive bundle of bipartisan legislation as Capitol Hill prepared to close the books on the year.

The relief package, agreed to on Sunday and finally released in bill form Monday afternoon, remained on track for votes in the House and Senate. It would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses and restaurants and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.

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