The relief package will be combined with a $1.4 trillion measure to fund federal agencies through the end of September and a package extending expiring tax provisions. 

Both Democrats and Republicans touted various aspects of the relief package, though Democrats wanted a significantly larger bill. 

Democrats argue that more relief legislation will need to be enacted once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, though Republicans are already resisting that idea. A state and local aid package and liability protections were left out of the agreement.

When Congress approves the legislation it will have appropriated more than $4 trillion to respond to the coronavirus pandemic that has caused more than 300,000 deaths across the country.

Stimulus checks: One of the key elements of the bill is a second round of direct payments to Americans.

The payments will be up to $600 per adult and per child. The amount per adult is half the $1,200 payments that were provided under the CARES Act enacted in March, but the amount per child is slightly larger than the $500 allowed under that law.

The bill will allow U.S. citizens who are in households that also include non-citizens to receive the payments. With the first round of payments, U.S. citizens married to people who do not have work-eligible Social Security numbers generally could not receive a payment if the couple filed a joint return.  

A second round of direct payments had not been included in a proposal from a bipartisan group of moderates who had served as a starting point for discussions. But progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), GOP Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and the White House all pushed for the inclusion of more relief checks.

Advocates for more checks are happy to see another direct payment included, but wished it was a higher amount.

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Unemployment benefits: Two expiring CARES Act programs, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which made benefits available to the self-employed and gig economy workers, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provided additional weeks of benefits, were extended for 11 weeks, averting a fiscal crisis for millions of Americans.

That timeline will set another key deadline to stop the programs from expiring in early March. In addition, Congress will add $300 to all weekly unemployment benefits, half the amount that supplemented benefits from April through July. Workers who rely on multiple jobs and have lost income will also be eligible for a weekly $100 boost as well.

Support for small businesses: The popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provided distressed small businesses with forgivable loans to keep them afloat and leave employees on the books, was re-upped with $284 billion in funds.

Businesses that already received a PPP loan will be eligible to get a second one under the new terms. Some of the PPP funds will be set aside for the smallest businesses and community-based lenders.

The deal provides $9 billion in emergency Treasury capital investments for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions, financial institutions that largely cater to minorities, as well as an additional $3 billion for CDFIs through a Treasury fund. It also provides $20 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans grants for smaller businesses.

Additionally, it includes $15 billion in grants dedicated to live venues. 

The expense-deductibility issue was one of the last issues to be resolved before lawmakers and the White House finalized an agreement. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle argued that they intended for expenses to be tax-deductible in the CARES Act, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin argued that deductibility would amount to double-dipping because PPP loan forgiveness isn’t considered taxable income. Read more at The Hill