Senate GOP, White House reach a fundamental agreement to break coronavirus aid logjam

WASHINGTON (KYMA, KECY)-Senate Republicans reach a tentative fundamental agreement with the White House of $1 trillion to move forward with a coronavirus relief bill.

The decision was announced Wednesday after tension in the Republican Party responded to the coronavirus pandemic, which is forcing states to re-evaluate their plans to reopen and to address the growing numbers of cases and deaths, reports NBC News.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has indicated that he wants to keep the price tag at $1 trillion. Sources say Republicans aren't all on the same page, as some have denounced the cost amid a soaring national debt.

As part of the preliminary agreement, Republican negotiations agreed to $70 billion for K-12 education for all schools on a per capita basis, with half of the money going to covering costs for schools that have reopened, according to NBC News.

$30 billion would be disbursed to colleges and universities — not to be tied to reopening, a Senate aide confirmed. The last $5 billion would be for governors to allocate how they see fit.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters as for a stimulus check. Negotiators agreed to provide another round of payments, which they have been pushing for weeks. The amount has yet to be determined.

For unemployment insurance and payroll tax cut, Republicans floated the idea of a short term extension of unemployment insurance benefits.

"We're really looking at trying to make sure that we have a comprehensive bill that deals with the issues," White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told NBC News. "Any short-term extensions would defy the history of Congress, which would indicate that it would just be met with another short-term extension."

The $600-a-week federal payment for jobless Americans is set to run dry at the end of the month, and with no extension, it could lag until Republicans come to a broader consensus.

"Problem with a payroll tax cut is it takes time" to deliver impacts, he said on CNBC, adding that "we're going to come back" to it but that the focus now is on other issues like direct payments and jobless benefits.

Sources say Republicans are "looking at 70 percent wage replacement" for unemployment insurance.