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.