The White House and the Senate have reached a deal for the economic stimulus package.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says furloughed workers will get as much as four months worth of salary under the new economic stimulus package.
The federal government will pay the full salaries of furloughed workers who make average wages for up to four months under an emerging stimulus deal expected to get a vote as soon as Tuesday.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.), who is negotiating the agreement with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, called the bipartisan agreement on unemployment benefits as “unemployment insurance on steroids.”
The proposal would allow furloughed workers to continue to collect health benefits from employers and a salary from the government.
“You can keep getting them, but, and most importantly, the federal government will pay your salary, your full salary for now four months,” Schumer said on the floor.
“We had asked for four months, and four months looks like what we’re going to get when we come this agreement,” he added.
A Democratic aide familiar with the proposal said that it would expand unemployment benefits by $600 per week for four months, in addition to what states would provide as base salary compensation. For the average worker, adding the $600 per week would amount to 100 percent of wages.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference to ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to act on the coronavirus legislation put in front of the Senate on March 14, 2020 in New York City. The House passed the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the Senate is expected to take up the legislation next week. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)