WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a relief package that would increase funding for small businesses, hospitals and coronavirus testing as the pandemic started to take a big toll on the U.S. economy.
The swift passage by a voice vote came after congressional Democrats reached an agreement with the Trump administration on the 484-billion-U.S.-dollar relief package earlier in the day.
"Congressional Democrats are proud to have secured an agreement on an interim emergency funding package that has been transformed to provide real support for the lives and livelihoods of the American people," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.
The package will provide more than 310 billion dollars in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program to boost small business lending, as well as 75 billion dollars for hospitals and 25 billion dollars for coronavirus testing, according to the Democratic leaders.
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