WASHINGTON (AP) – Marking a year of loss and disruption, President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the $ 1.9 trillion aid package that he said will help the US beat the coronavirus and restore the economy to health. Some checks to Americans could start this weekend.
The signing came hours before Biden delivered his first prime-time address since taking office. He aims to steer the nation toward a hunger pang – hope – as he marks a year since the start of the pandemic that killed more than 530,000 Americans.
“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office.
Most notable for many Americans are amenities that provide up to $ 1,400 in direct payments, some of which could end up in bank accounts this weekend, and weekly emergency unemployment benefits could be expanded from $ 300 through early September. Also included are extended tax credits for the coming year for children, childcare and family leave – some of them credits that the Democrats have indicated they want to make permanent – plus expenses on tenants, nutrition programs, and people’s bills.
The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package on Wednesday by a vote near party 220-211, seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republicans in both houses were unanimous against the legislation, characterizing it as bloated, full of liberal policies and disregarding signs that the crises are receding.
Biden originally planned to sign the bill on Friday, but it arrived at the White House faster than expected.
“We want to move as soon as possible,” tweeted White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. He added, “We will have our signing celebration on Friday, as scheduled, with convention leaders!”
Ahead of his Thursday night comments, Biden said he would “talk about what we’ve been through as a nation over the past year, but more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next.”
Biden’s challenge will be to honor the sacrifices Americans have made over the past year, while encouraging them to remain vigilant despite “virus fatigue” and growing impatience to resume normal activities, given the tantalizing promise of vaccines. Speaking of the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of a pandemic, he will mourn the dead but also radiate optimism about the future.
“This is an opportunity for him to really shine in everyone’s living room and be both the grieving chief and explain how he is running the country out of here,” said Douglas Brinkley, president of the president and professor at Rice University.
“This is a great moment,” added Brinkley. “He needs to win hearts and minds so that people stay masked and get vaccinated, but also recognize that the federal government hasn’t forgotten you after last year.”
Biden’s evening remarks in the East Room are central to a pivotal week for the president as he tackles the defining challenge of his tenure: herding the nation through the dual public health and economic storms caused by the virus.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the first guidelines for how vaccinated people can resume some normal activities. On Wednesday, Congress approved the president’s $ 1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan”, which aims to reduce the virus’s economic impact on tens of millions of people. And the country was well on track to deliver its 100 millionth dose of vaccine as soon as possible on Thursday.
Biden said he would focus his comments on what his government plans to deliver in the coming months, but he also reiterates his call for Americans to continue to exercise social detachment and wear face masks to hasten the end of the pandemic.
“I’m going to launch the next phase of the COVID response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will be asking of the American people,” he said.
He added, “There is light at the end of this dark tunnel from the past year. There is really reason for hope. “
Almost exactly a year ago, President Donald Trump addressed the nation to mark the WHO’s declaration of a global pandemic. He announced travel restrictions and called on Americans to practice good hygiene, but raised little alarm about the impending catastrophe. Trump, it was later revealed, acknowledged that he had deliberately “toned down” the threat posed by the virus.
For Biden, who has pledged to be on par with the American public following the alternate reality of Trump’s virus talk, it is imperative to strike the right balance “between optimism and sadness,” said Princeton history professor and presidential scholar Julian Zelizer.
“In general, the country loves optimism, and at this particular moment they are desperate for optimism, but you cannot risk a ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment,” he said, warning of any premature statement that the threat has been overcome. .
Fifty days after his presidency, Biden experiences a polling honeymoon that his predecessor never enjoyed. Yet public sentiment remains stubbornly polarized and fewer people among his critics seem willing to say they will give him a chance than has been the case with previous presidents. Overall, he has earned strengths in his handling of the pandemic.
According to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published last week, 70% of Americans support the Democratic president’s handling of the virus response, including 44% of Republicans.
The White House hopes that when Biden takes on the role of cheerleader for the virus-fighting package, the elements of the $ 1.9 trillion bill popular with Republicans will further increase his support.
Brinkley said that Biden’s decision to deliver a speech aimed directly at the nation before delivering the traditional presidential speech before a joint session of Congress indicates that it is equally an “ introduction ” to the president and his administration. to the American people as a status report. on his first 50 days in office.
Presidential speeches to Congress “are usually a series of sound bites,” Brinkley said. “In this way he can immediately defend his case.”
Still, the primetime speech is in many ways an anachronism, better suited to an era when Americans had far fewer television capabilities and a presidential speech could reframe the national conversation.
The fragmented media landscape makes it more difficult for Biden to reach people, Zelizer said, but that may not matter.
“Everything he does is a legacy,” said Zelizer. “It’s part of his effort to create normalcy after the past four years.”