Deal to deliver COVID relief
Politicians agree on massive stimulus for Americans
WASHINGTON: US politicians agreed on Sunday on a nearly $US900bn ($1.1 trillion) COVID-19 relief package for millions of Americans, in a deal that follows months of wrangling and comes as the nation battles the world’s largest outbreak.
The package includes aid for vaccine distribution and logistics, extra jobless benefits of $300 a week, and a new round of $600 stimulus checks.
It comes after months of partisan debate and fingerpointing as well as last-minute negotiations that culminated in a deal politicians said they hoped to formally approve on Monday.
Negotiations had taken place amid a highly contentious campaign for the US presidency and Donald Trump’s subsequent refusal to concede defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
“We’ve agreed to a package of nearly $900bn. It is packed with targeted policies to help struggling Americans who have already waited too long,” Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed an agreement had been reached with Republicans and the White House on a deal that “delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates”.
The agreement also contains $25bn in housing aid to prevent evictions and nearly $100bn to help schools and childcare facilities re-open, a statement from Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer said.
Number two Democrat in the House of Representatives Steny Hoyer said he expected the deal to pass and then head to the Senate.
That meant it required passage of a stopgap measure – to be signed by Mr Trump – to keep the federal government funded an extra 24 hours and avert a shutdown.
The House and Senate have approved the stopgap measure.
In the wake of the deal, president-elect Mr Biden – who has promised to pass another massive bailout when he takes office in January – welcomed the agreement but said more would need to be done.
“Immediately, starting in the new year, Congress will need to get to work on support for our COVID-19 plan, for support to struggling families, and investments in jobs and economic recovery,” he said.
Democrats and Republicans have traded blame for months over the failure to reach a deal on this second relief plan – and continued to do so even after the deal was agreed.
The US economy has been gravely battered, with jobless numbers rising in the past two weeks. Making matters worse, millions of Americans were poised to lose jobless benefits after Christmas, and federal moratoria on evictions and repayment of student loans are set to expire at the end of the month.