The House on Thursday evening approved a $484 billion measure that provides additional money for a coronavirus aid program for small businesses, following the Republican-run Senate’s passage of the legislation on Tuesday.
The bill received overwhelming support, with 388 votes in favor of it and only five against it, according to preliminary tallies. President Donald Trump was expected to sign the legislation into law quickly.
The measure, which comes after extensive negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, contains about $320 billion for a Paycheck Protection Program meant to help small businesses. It also has about $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for coronavirus testing, and $60 billion for the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
House lawmakers returned to Washington for a roll-call vote on the bill, called the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. Many legislators wore face masks as they gave speeches on the chamber’s floor, and they voted in groups in an extended process in order to keep their distance from each other amid the coronavirus pandemic.