Trump presses for $1 trillion stimulus as US deaths cross 100
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump promised money to people out of work, and will hold a news conference on Wednesday to discuss “very important news from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).” His administration is considering a stimulus plan that could reach $1.2 trillion.
In a second post on Twitter, the US president said he would “totally protect” Medicare and social security.
Trump asked Congress to speed emergency checks to Americans, enlisted the military for Mash-like hospitals and implored ordinary people — particularly socially active millennials — to do their part by staying home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
His proposed economic package is a rescue initiative not seen since the Great Recession. Trump wants cheques sent to the public within two weeks and is urging Congress to pass the eye-popping stimulus package in a matter of days. As analysts warn the country is surely entering a recession, the government is grappling with an enormous political undertaking with echoes of the 2008 financial crisis.
At the Capitol on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell vowed the Senate would not adjourn until the work was done. “Obviously, we need to act,” Mcconnell said.
“We’re not leaving town until we have constructed and passed another bill.”
But first, Mcconnell said, the Senate will vote on a Housepassed package of sick pay, emergency food and free testing, putting it back on track for Trump’s signature — despite Republican objections. “Gag, and vote for it anyway,” he advised colleagues.
It was a signal of what the GOP leader called the “herculean” task ahead.
Overnight, the White House sent lawmakers a $46 billion emergency funding request to boost medical care for military service members and veterans, fund production of vaccines and medicines, build 13 quarantine centres at the southern border for migrants, make federal buildings safer, and reimburse Amtrak for $500 million in anticipated revenue losses, among other purposes.
The Trump request also reverses cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health that Trump proposed in his February budget for next year and would create a $3 billion fund for unanticipated needs.
Senators gathered at an otherwise shut-down Capitol as Americans across the country were implored to heed advice and avoid crowds.