Senate Republicans back more stimulus checks, money to schools in new pandemic aid proposal

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans were scrambling Thursday to finalize a $1 trillion coronavirus relief package that will include another round of $1,200 stimulus checks and additional funding to help schools recover from the pandemic.

GOP leaders and the White House said late Wednesday that they had agreed on key parts of the legislation, which will serve as a starting point for negotiations with Democrats, who have already passed their own bill in the House.

But Republicans are still struggling to put the finishing touches on the package. Congress and the White House are under pressure to clinch a deal on a fresh pandemic aid package; a federal program of expanded unemployment benefits is set to run out within days.

One item that will be missing from the GOP plan is President Donald Trump’s demand for a payroll tax cut. Republicans abandoned that proposal even though Trump had suggested he might not sign any bill that doesn’t include it.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that a payroll tax cut will not be included in the bill because the focus is getting money to workers quickly. "The payroll tax takes time," he said.