The emergency relief is expected to pass Congress and be signed into law by President Donald Trump as early as Thursday.
"It's unfortunate that it took our Democratic colleagues 12 days to agree to a deal that contains essentially nothing that Republicans ever opposed," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the floor."In my view, it's indefensible that Main Street's small businesses and their workers had their assistance cut off for partisan leverage."
Republicans and Mnuchin originally sought to immediately inject another no-strings-attached $251 billion into the fund before it ran out last week. But Democrats first wanted assurances that a portion of the money would go to rural, minority and women-owned small businesses they say were underserved. They demanded more money for hospitals, state and local governments, and food stamps.
GOP Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky gave floor speeches advocating for Congress to be immediately recalled from recess in order to conduct legislative business, admonishing the process by which congressional leaders and administration officials have worked exclusively among themselves to craft coronavirus stimulus packages. Neither lawmaker objected to Tuesday's voice vote.
More liberal Democrats, such as members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus , have voiced concerns that the package stops short of providing enough aid to struggling Americans and local governments, and that they may not support it. However, they have stopped short of saying they'd block its unanimous passage.
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