Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the Senate will vote on a new package of coronavirus aid by the end of this week, according to CNBC. While details of what would, and would not, be in this package are sparse, the legislation is likely to resemble the $500 billion plan that the Republicans most recently proposed. That proposal came in response to certain party members objecting to the party's original $1 trillion proposal, which itself was half the size of what Democrats had been asking for in negotiations. Their original proposal, "The Heroes Act," released in May, was for $3 trillion. It is unknown what the purpose of this vote will serve, as CNBC said it is unlikely to pass the Senate and, even if it does, it's very unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled House.

According to MarketWatch, economists believe that, given the August jobs report, it is unlikely that the federal government will feel any particular urgency to pass a new package within the near future, and the so the economists advised investors to make financial decisions with the assumption that a new deal isn't happening. While Congress is back in session, much attention is now focused on making sure that the government remains funded and avoids a government shutdown; while, technically, lawmakers could try to pass portions of pandemic aid in this process, the Associated Press said that this is unlikely, as Congress would prefer a drama-free spending resolution this year, without the brinksmanship that has come with the process in other years.