Democrats reportedly reach a $450 billion deal with the White House in order to expand funding for small business loans, and Trump says he will sign it

• Senate Democrats and the White House reportedly reached a $450 billion deal on Tuesday after hitting a stalemate on a plan to pump more money into a small-business loan program.
• The deal injects an extra $310 billion into small business loans, more than the White House had asked for. Half those funds being set aside for smaller entities like unbanked individuals and "mom and pop stores," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
• The legislation also provides additional funding for healthcare providers.
• Lawmakers were struggling to agree on the safeguards around the small business loan program to ensure that funds reached businesses in disadvantaged communities.
• The package will also include $25 billion to enhance testing capabilities, with $11 billion of those funds directed to states.
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Senate Republicans and Democrats finally reached a $450 billion deal on Tuesday after hitting a stalemate on whether to pump more money into a small-business loan program.

Negotiators finally reached an agreement early Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the dealings.

On Twitter, President Donald Trump appeared to give the legislation his blessing, urging Congress to pass it and saying that he will sign the bill.

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020

Earlier that morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had told CNN that there were "still a few more i's to dot and t's to cross," but he was confident that "we have a deal and I believe we'll pass it today."

Schumer said negotiations between himself, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin went late into the night.

The Senate is expected to vote on the bill on Tuesday at 4pm. The House is expected to take up the legislation as early as Thursday, after Majority Leader Steny Hoyer notified members that the House could meet as early as Thursday at 10 am to consider it.

A large portion of the deal, $310 billion, injects cash into small business loans and a fund called the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides struggling American small businesses with temporary cash flow. Of those funds, $125 million will go "exclusively to the unbanked, to the minorities, to the rural areas, and to all of those little mom and pop stores that don't have a good banking connection and need the help," Schumer told CNN.

The cash boost comes after President Donald Trump requested an additional $250 billion to the small-business payroll program as a supplement to the government's $2.3 trillion coronavirus economic relief plan that passed last month. Funding for the payroll program has already been exhausted.

Another $25 billion has been allocated for in enhancing testing capabilities, with $11 billion going to the states, CNN reported.

Pelosi said on CNN Tuesday that Democrats were pushing to establish a national testing strategy, though Trump was resistant to the measure and insisted that individual states should be in charge of their own testing plans.

In addition to small business loans, the deal also gives $75 billion to healthcare providers. Previous funding went to all healthcare providers, including those who lost money due to lockdown orders.

The $450 billion economic relief package comes after Democrats and Republicans struggled to agree on the safeguards around the small business loan program to ensure that funds reached businesses in disadvantaged communities, according to Reuters.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed the broad outlines of the package during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday and said that the bill would allocate more funding for testing, hospitals, and small businesses.

At a Sunday evening coronavirus press briefing, Trump said Democrats and Republicans were "close" to reaching a deal.

"It could happen," Trump said Sunday. "A lot of good work has been going on and we could have an answer tomorrow and we are going to see what exactly does take place."

Trump added that additional aid for rural hospitals would be etched into the deal.

"We are also looking at helping our hospitals and our rural hospitals who have been hurt very badly," he said. "The rural hospitals for a long time have not been treated properly. We are looking to help them and beyond. So we are looking at hospitals also as part of the package."

Trump also announced that the US has now tested more than four million people for the coronavirus, completing around 150,000 test per day.

Mnuchin told CNN that Trump would provide enhanced funding for state and local governments in a future deal.

"The President has heard from the governors and he's prepared to discuss that in the next bill," Mnuchin said.

Kimberly Leonard contributed reporting.

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