GOP senator: Bipartisan coronavirus bill extends eviction protection, leaves out direct payments

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Sen. Bill Cassidy: Trump indicates he will sign $908B coronavirus stimulus package

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy tells ‘Fox News Sunday’ he’s ‘optimistic’ President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will ‘come on board’ with the latest coronavirus relief bill.

The bipartisan coronavirus relief bill extends a moratorium on evictions for people who can't pay their rent, but it doesn't include a federal stimulus check, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Sunday.

Cassidy, one of 10 senators drafting the proposed package, said he hopes that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and President Trump will sign off on it.

While final language is expected to be hammered out early this week, one item that will not be included is a second round of direct payments to Americans.

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"It may be a go, but it’s not in this bill," Cassidy told "Fox News Sunday," 

"This is not a stimulus bill, it’s a relief bill," he said. "...There may be a stimulus check, but that would be part of a different piece of legislation."

The roughly $900 billion proposal being pushed by the senators — including Joe Manchin, D-W.V.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Mitt Romney, R-Utah; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Angus King, I-Maine; and Mark Warner, D-Va. — represents a compromise between the $500 billion package backed by McConnell and the $2.2 trillion plan sought by Democrats.

The bipartisan group is proposing an extension of the moratorium on evictions, which provides protection against people who cannot afford to pay their rent. At the same time, Cassidy said, they want to protect landlords as well.

Cassidy said that "one of the sticking points" in negotiations over the bill is liability protection for small businesses that would allow them to be open without worrying that they will be sued by customers who contract COVID-19.

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"There has to be some liability protection," Cassidy said, citing mixed messages early on about the need for customers and employees to wear masks.

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The senator said he is confident that Trump and McConnell will accept the compromise relief package, which he believes is urgently needed.

"The pain of the American people is driving this, and I’m optimistic that both of those leaders will come on board," he said.

FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.