House passes $484 billion bill to help small businesses and hospitals

Donning face coverings and voting in alphabetical sets to cut the risk of infection, representatives approved the bill easily by a 388-5-1 vote.

The House sends the proposal to President Donald Trump, who is set to sign it into law in the coming hours.

The bill passed Thursday includes: 

• $310 billion in new funds for the so-called Paycheck Protection Program, which gives small firms loans that could be forgiven if they use them on wages, benefits, rent and utilities. Within that pool, $60 billion will specifically go to small lenders, a priority Democrats pushed for after they blocked a $250 billion funding bill earlier this month.

• $60 billion for Small Business Administration disaster assistance loans and grants.

• $75 billion in grants to hospitals overwhelmed by a rush of Covid-19 patients.

• $25 billion to bolster coronavirus testing, a core piece of any plan to restart the U.S. economy.