The US Congress on Monday approved a nearly $900 billion coronavirus emergency relief bill following months of partisan conflict between Republicans and Democrats. Under the new package, nearly $284 billion is meant for small businesses to keep the worker employed and $164 billion for the one-time payments of $600 to most American citizens.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, described the bill as the first step in providing the President-elect Joe Biden all the resources to fight the pandemic outbreak in the country. The House of Representatives approved the financial bill by 359-53, while the Senate voted 91-7, sending the bill to the incumbent President, who is likely to sign it.
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In the marathon negotiations that were held over the weekend, both the Republican and Democratic congressional leaders agreed on the terms of the bill. The new financial bill allocated nearly $3.36bn for GAVI, an international vaccine alliance, which a partnership of the World Bank, World Health Organization, Bill Gates Foundation, and UNICEF, that aims to provide vaccination to the developing world which can’t afford vaccination.
Meanwhile, Steve Munchin, the treasury secretary, told the Americans during a television interview that the department would be sending the $600 checks to the people as soon as next week. He said, “It’s money that gets recirculated in the economy, so people go out and spend this money, and that helps small business, and that helps to get more people back to work.”
Among other important provisions in the bill, it also includes short-term unemployment benefits and funding for vaccine distribution, as well as financial help for the people living in the hardest-hit regions of the country.
Democrats had sought $164 billion for the states in federal bailout, primarily because many localities are seeing budget shortfall after a decline in tax collection from coronavirus-economic slowdown. The new bill was attacked to a larger must-pass $1.4 trillion spending fiscal 2021 providing funding for the federal government.
In a statement, the US President-elect Joe Biden hailed the bipartisan deal in the Congress and described it as a “lifeline” for Americans affected by the coronavirus disease and economic slowdown. He also signaled that once he assumes office on January 20, he would be asking Congress for more funding.
Moreover, the relief package provides $25 billion in rental assistance and extends the evictions until the end of January 2020. Nearly $82 billion were allocated to educational institutes for the replacement and repair of the heating systems, and mitigation steps to curb the spread of the pandemic. Apart from that, it also included funding for public transport agencies, entertainment venues, and various cultural associations.
