Us Stimulus Package Agreement
President Donald Trump has signed a major coronavirus stimulus package as well as an annual spending bill to avoid a government shutdown before Monday night`s deadline. The Democratic-led House of Representatives is expected to vote on the package on Monday, followed by the Republican-controlled Senate, according to Democratic House leader Steny Hoyer. The income criteria for stimulus cheques should mirror those of the first round of aid sent by the Ministry of Finance earlier this year. Adults should not be eligible for stimulus payments, people familiar with the negotiations said, despite a surge by Democrats in Congress. The deal would include stimulus payments for families where one parent is not a citizen, but not for undocumented immigrants themselves. Yet even as it prepared to pass a coherent measure, Congress was at the height of its dysfunction, leaving so little time to finish it that lawmakers had to face a series of contortions to get it across the finish line. Because it took longer to convert their deal into legislation, both Houses had to pass a one-day emergency spending bill – their third such temporary extension in the last 10 days – to avoid a government shutdown while concluding the deal. Party leaders were forced to make plans quickly after Trump called the coronavirus package a “disgrace” and demanded an additional $1,400 per stimulus check. However, several noted that Trump also expressed frustration with the legislation he later signed, including a $1.3 trillion spending bill in 2018. Republican and Democratic leaders said the package should have enough support to pass both houses of Congress.
The final bill bypasses some sticking points: controversial provisions (including state and local aid, and corporate liability protection) have been removed, and a last-minute disagreement over the Federal Reserve`s emergency credit agencies — a disagreement that appeared to be able to completely derail the negotiations — was also resolved. There were unexpected spending in the deal, including $1.4 billion in new funding for Trump`s border wall with Mexico and new border security technologies, said Republican House Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). The deal would bring the first significant injection of federal dollars into the economy since April, when negotiators broke the months-long partisan stalemate that had sunk previous negotiations, leaving millions of Americans and businesses without federal assistance as the pandemic raged. Although the plan is about half the size of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed in March, it is one of the largest aid packages in modern history. At the heart of the breakthrough was a mutual agreement to abandon critical priorities approved by one party and hated by the other: a Democratic push to establish a direct flow of money for state and local governments short of financial resources, and a Republican call for comprehensive corporate liability protection measures, hospitals and other institutions opened during the pandemic. More help is on the way. A few moments ago, the four speakers of the Senate and the House of Representatives reached an agreement in consultation with our committees. This will be another great bailout for the American people. As our citizens continue to fight this coronavirus this holiday season, they will not fight alone. We have agreed on an envelope of nearly $900 billion. It is full of targeted measures to help troubled Americans who have already waited far too long. For workers in the most affected small businesses, there will be a second targeted draw from the Paycheque Protection Program.
We haven`t worked as hard in all these months to save as many jobs as possible just to grope the ball with the vaccinations already underway. Speaking of vaccines, we can undo the success of Operation Warp Speed by falling asleep at the distribution of switches, so this agreement will provide huge sums of money for the logistics that will bring these vital vaccines to our citizens as quickly as possible. Of course, several million Americans have lost their jobs and continue to lose them through no fault of their own. This program will renew and extend a number of other key federal unemployment benefits that have helped families stay afloat. In all kinds of families, in all kinds of situations, it has been a difficult time in all areas. At the special request of President Trump and his administration, our agreement will include another round of direct impact payments to help budgets make ends meet and continue our economic recovery. Congress aims to include the coronavirus relief plan in a $1.4 trillion spending bill that funds government programs through September 2021. “Once this agreement goes into effect, it won`t be the last word on alleviating Congress,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader who called the deal a “down payment.” The aid plan was to be coupled with a recovery volume of US$1.4 trillion for public spending. Included are the 12 annual licensing laws to fund each federal department and social safety net, as well as a number of legislative additions that lawmakers attach to ensure their priorities can take effect before Congress adjourns for the year. A compromise proposal made earlier this month by Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.
Va.), among other centrist lawmakers, would have provided for 16 weeks of unemployment benefits instead of the 11 weeks provided for in the current agreement. It was unclear why congressional leaders shortened the duration of unemployment benefits in their latest agreement compared to the lawmakers` bipartisan plan. The deal also reflected a latest attempt by progressive Democrats, who have found unlikely allies in both Mr. Trump and Senator Josh Hawley, Republicans from Missouri, to secure a more robust series of direct payments. Just before lawmakers announced a final deal, the president, who had been remarkably absent from the talks, urged Congress to reach an agreement and called for “more direct payments.” The deal is also expected to provide billions of dollars for vaccine screening, tracing and distribution, as well as $82 billion for colleges and schools, $13 billion for increased food aid, $7 billion for broadband access and $25 billion for rent subsidies. The agreement is also expected to extend a moratorium on evictions that expires at the end of the year. The $600 stimulus cheques that were once expected to reach Americans by this week could be delayed. Meanwhile, unemployment programs put in place earlier this year expired over the weekend. As Republicans sought to keep the cost of aid below $1 trillion, negotiators slashed aid from the stimulus package passed in March, as the ruinous toll of the pandemic was just beginning to become clear. “I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes it clear to Congress that unnecessary articles must be removed. I will send a red-painted version back to Congress, point by point, accompanied by the formal resignation motion to Congress insisting that these funds be removed from the bill,” Trump said Sunday night.
The basis of the package unveiled Sunday reflects the heart of the March stimulus package, as lawmakers sought to pursue programs that have proven to be essential lifelines for millions of struggling Americans and businesses, and to address concerns raised in recent months. The stimulus deal includes $600 cheques, an increase in unemployment insurance and more help for small businesses. Encouraged after the November election, a bipartisan group of moderates negotiated its own $748 billion compromise and pressured congressional leaders to redouble their efforts to reach an agreement. In the end, the two main Democrats and the two main Republicans fought on Capitol Hill with their staff and sometimes Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, a few chaotic days of the week before Christmas for the final deal. The bill does not provide direct assistance to state and local governments, a Democratic priority, or liability protection to protect businesses from the coronavirus lawsuits that Republicans had championed. An additional deferral of federal student loan payments is also not included in the deal, Politico`s Michael Stratford reports. After eight months of back and forth, Democratic and Republican leaders have agreed on a plan worth about $900 billion. .