WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – After nearly a week of negotiations, senators have reached a deal on a coronavirus relief package. But now there’s a last-minute push to fix the agreement.
“Now is the time to respond to the concerns of the American people,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Wednesday.
Tillis is supporting a massive $2 trillion coronavirus relief package – the latest of three bills Congress has crafted.
What’s inside could relieve some of the financial burden many are facing.
“(A) $1,200 check for every adult,” Tillis said.
The senator hopes the one-time payment will give families some stability in this time of uncertainty.
Other GOP lawmakers threw a wrench in the deal late Wednesday. They said there was an error in the text of the agreement and they couldn’t move forward until it was fixed.
“If this is not a drafting error, then it is the worst idea I’ve seen in a long time and that’s saying a lot given the fact we’re in Washington,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Wednesday afternoon.
Graham said a section in the bill allows people to qualify for more unemployment money than they make while working.
Graham – along with South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Florida Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) – introduced an amendment to fix it.
“I’m very supportive of this amendment. It is the right thing to do,” Sen. Rick Scott said.
Democratic Alabama Senator Doug Jones said he doesn’t see this derailing the process.
“You know when you got a bill like this, not everybody is gonna be happy and there will be a concern here and there,” Jones said late Wednesday.
Both Jones and Tillis agree more legislation could be coming as Americans continue through this crisis.
