The United States Congress on Monday approved a $ 900,000 million residential and business support plan that is considered essential to set the course of the world’s first economy badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The overwhelming support for the aid package in both the Senate and the House of Representatives paved the way for its adoption by President Donald Trump, which he did early Tuesday morning to avoid a federal government shutdown.
“The American people can rest assured that more aid will come right away,” Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter.
Coinciding with the boom in the spread of the coronavirus that continues to rein in the economy, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have finally drafted a bill after months of bickering.
The deal will be an oxygen balloon for millions of unemployed people who saw how aid would end after Christmas and will provide another injection of liquid money for the most vulnerable households.
Small businesses will benefit from increased government subsidies, while the package also includes rental assistance and assistance for families being evicted.
“It’s a good two-pronged deal,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.
But “as President-elect Joe Biden has said, it is a first step, and we will have to do more. More to get help to fight the virus. More money to buy vaccines,” he added.
The United States, the country most affected by the pandemic in absolute terms, has been facing a strong outbreak in recent months that threatens the expected economic recovery. The number of cases in the country surpassed 18 million on Monday, with more than 319,000 dead.
Recent data shows that retail sales slowed in the run-up to the holidays, while new claims for unemployment benefits have surged for four of the past five weeks after months of slump.
The new law “will get some workers and businesses through the winter, but will do little to accelerate the arrival of an economic recovery,” estimated David Kelly of JP Morgan Asset Management.
– Checks from next week –
The aid package is part of a comprehensive $ 2.3 trillion, nearly 5,600-page bill, including federal government funding for the coming year.
Even before the vote on emergency response to the economy, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that checks of $ 600 per adult and per child for families in greatest difficulty will be sent early. in the following week.
Mnuchin also celebrated this help, which comes “just in time for the holidays” at the end of the year, in statements to CNBC.
“People will see this money from the beginning of next week. It will be very soon,” added Donald Trump’s cabinet member.
This direct support is intended to maintain household consumption and thus growth. For families with more financial problems there will also be help with paying rent.
“We can close the year on a rare optimistic note,” stressed Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate.
The world’s first economy plunged into deep recession in the boreal spring, the worst since the 1930s, due to the cessation of activities to combat the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Millions of Americans were unemployed at night.
The continued summer comeback sparked some optimism before the second major wave of the pandemic in the fall halted job creation and activity.
This plan is to prevent millions of people who lose their aid the day after Christmas from falling into poverty.
The first package, reaching the massive $ 2.2 trillion, was urgently voted in late March in the heat of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those benefits include one-time unemployment benefits of $ 600 per week and the mailing of a check for $ 1,200 per adult.
Since the summer, Democrats and Republicans have been in a deadlock, at odds with the total amount of the new contingency plan: while the former demanded a package similar to March’s, the latter tried to limit it to one maximum of 1 billion Dollars.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had already warned last week that many small businesses could go bankrupt if they didn’t get new aid.
The plan must also include support for approximately $ 16,000 million to save tens of thousands of jobs for airlines and their subcontractors.