"Next week, we'll be beginning a new bill," McConnell said
during an interview with WRVK radio in his home state of
Kentucky.
McConnell added the legislation, which has not yet been
unveiled, will likely be more contentious than the previous four
coronavirus aid bills. Those pumped more than $3 trillion into
the hobbled economy with a combination of business loans,
expanded unemployment benefits for workers and direct payments
to families.
"I do think we'll get there and do something that needs to be
done" before Congress begins an August recess, the Republican
senator predicted.
But there are also divisions among Republicans - in the White
House and in Congress - over the precise direction of the
upcoming bill, including whether there should be another round
of direct payments to individuals and families.
McConnell has talked about a bill costing no more than $1
trillion, while Democrats in the House of Representatives passed
a $3 trillion measure in mid-May that McConnell has so far
ignored.
McConnell wants to focus on liability protections for business,
schools and other entities as they reopen their operations even
as coronavirus cases surge in many parts of the United States,
including Kentucky.
California on Monday imposed new restrictions on businesses as
coronavirus hospitalizations soared in the country's
most-populous state. Coronavirus infections have risen rapidly
in about 40 of the 50 states over the past two weeks, according
to a Reuters analysis.
Democrats are pushing for new federal aid to state and local
governments affected by the coronavirus, which Republicans have
resisted.
Lawmakers also have been arguing over extending special
unemployment benefits that are due to expire at the end of July,
as well as a massive small business-loan program that runs
through early August.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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