New relief for struggling Americans could soon be on the way.

On Monday night, Senate Republicans unveiled a new $1 trillion coronavirus relief plan, calling it the “HEALS Act.”

"That's health, economic assistance, liability protection and schools," says Sen. Mitch McConnell.

The announcement comes as the race for a safe and effective vaccine takes a major step toward becoming a reality.

The GOP’s plan includes another round of stimulus checks, cuts enhanced employment benefits from $600 to $200 and would allocate billions to testing and reopening schools.
Senate minority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer slammed the Republicans’ proposals and the months it took them to draw them up as a “slow-motion trainwreck.”

"Not only do we not know if the president supports any of these proposals. We don't even know if Senate Republicans fully support them," says Sen. Schumer.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says the vaccine race known as “Operation Warp Speed” is living up to its name.
“We have shaved years off of the time that it takes to develop a vaccine. In some cases, many years. We have done it while maintaining FDA gold standard for safety," says President Trump.

"Having these companies produce the vaccines as we speak and as soon they are confirmed to be safe and effective, we'll have tens of millions of doses able to distribute across the country," says Vice President Mike Pence.

The news of the vaccine comes as grim milestones are met in the pandemic. More than 650,000 people have now been killed by the virus worldwide. More than 147,000 of those deaths are in the United States.

House Speaker Pelosi promises coronavirus relief to hard-hit states