I must admit that I haven’t spent a lot of time reading the markups on the latest Covid relief bill passed by Congress late Sunday afternoon.

But, I did find it interesting that both majority leaders in both chambers spent a lot of time on CSPAN patting each other on the back while blaming the other party.

This bill is essentially the same bill that was argued back in July. And, it is the same bill both the Treasury team and the Speaker’s team hammered out more than five months ago.

In fact, the July version called for another $1200 in direct payments not the $600 Americans are getting now.

It matters because not one single congressperson missed a paycheck during this crisis. They make $174,500 a year. That comes out to be about $3,300 a week for what is essentially a part time job.

This doesn’t include a large amount of free travel and their stellar healthcare coverage. No wonder representatives spend so much time getting reelected. It should come as no surprise that 96% of them will be coming back.

If you have a small business with employees, you’ll see some opportunity to apply for load relief funds through the SBA.

And, if you’re an employee of a company (and laid off) you’ll continue to see an extra $300/week on top of the state funded unemployment.

The one time payment of $600 is just that…a one time payment. It’s interesting to note that the financial relief passed by Congress is the lowest amount (direct payment amount) of any first world country. Even at that, it could take a while to get the funds depending on how fast the government wants to move this process along.

Check out this quick read from the Hill on what’s in the bill.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/531086-whats-in-the-900billion-coronavirus-relief-bill