Senate cuts reduced COVID-19 package’s cost by $66 billion

The Senate cut $66 billion from the COVID-19 relief measure’s $1.9 trillion cost, according to a new estimate released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office.

While $66 billion in cuts would normally be seen as a significant alteration in the size of a spending package, it amounted to a drop in the bucket for the massive stimulus bill.

 The bill approved by the House has been estimated to increase the deficit by $1.921 trillion over the course of a decade, while the Senate-amended version on track to pass Wednesday dropped the total cost to $1.855 trillion.

Stripping out language mandating a $15 federal minimum wage alone accounted for $54 billion in expected deficit costs.

The Senate also reduced the level of weekly additional unemployment benefits from $400 to $300, though a tax break on the benefit meant that change didn’t save as much money.