April 8, 2020 / RACHEL COHRS
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday said they want to give providers an extra $100 billion in grant funds to fight COVID-19 in a funding package Republicans hope to pass as soon as this week.
Senate Republicans and the Trump administration plan to infuse an extra $250 billion into a small business loan program created in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he hoped to pass the additional funding on Thursday.
Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement Wednesday that they also want several other items included in the booster bill, including doubling the CARES Act’s $100 billion in provider emergency grants to be used in part to obtain protective equipment and COVID-19 tests. Other requests include $150 billion for state and local governments and expanding nutrition assistance programs.
