Congressional leaders on Sunday reached a deal on a roughly $900 billion coronavirus relief package after a half-year of stalemate, securing another tranche of aid as a surge in COVID-19 infections threatens to further derail the nation's sputtering economy. Boosted unemployment benefits: Laid-off workers will get an extra $300 per week in federal unemployment aid for 11 weeks, through March 14. The bill also expands unemployment benefits to self-employed individuals, gig workers and those who have exhausted their state benefits by extending CARES Act programs, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. Airline industry aid: The bill allocates $45 billion in transportation aid, including $15 billion to help airlines keep their employees on the payroll. Vaccine distribution: The package includes $69 billion for vaccine distribution and testing efforts, including $20 billion for the purchase of vaccines, nearly $9 billion for vaccine distribution and about $22 billion to help states with testing, tracing and mitigation programs.

Source: Fox News December 21, 2020 13:18 UTC