House passes $484 coronavirus aid bill

The United States House of Representatives has passed the $484 billion aid bill. The bill will help restart the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and support healthcare workers.

“I'm proud we finally came together to deliver for the American people,” Representative Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) said in a statement to WZFG/KTGO News. “Hopefully this can provide some semblance of security to people as they stare down the unknown.”

The bill, more specifically, provides $321 billion for the PPP, $60 billion in economic disaster loans for small businesses, $75 billion in emergency relief for hospitals and $25 billion to increase coronavirus testing.

The passage comes two weeks after the negotiations began.

“It is unfortunate that it took Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer 16 days of political grandstanding to replenish the PPP. A program that is literally keeping businesses afloat and protecting workers during this pandemic,” Armstrong said. “Republicans spent weeks before the funds dried up asking that we put aside our differences to tackle this together as a unified Congress. But no, we had to wait 16 days because Democrats put political leverage over people's livelihoods. This needs to stop.”