Top Capitol Hill negotiators sealed a deal Sunday on an almost US$1 trillion coronavirus economic relief package, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses and individuals and providing money to deliver vaccines to a nation eager for them. The House was expected to vote on the legislation on Monday, said a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Marlyland,. The House would pass a one-day stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown at midnight Sunday. It combines coronavirus relief with a US$1.4 trillion government-wide funding plan and lots of other unrelated measures on taxes, health, infrastructure and education. It would be the first significant legislative response to the pandemic since the US$1.8 trillion CARES Act passed virtually unanimously in March.-AP

Source: The Standard December 21, 2020 00:00 UTC