Biden has $1.9trn plan to fight Covid

■ Prez-elect for $1,400 cheques to give US economy a boost

Wilmington (Delaware), Jan. 15: President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan to end “a crisis of deep human suffering” by speeding up vaccines and pumping out financial help to those struggling with the pandemic’s prolonged economic fallout.

Called the “American Rescue Plan,” the legislative proposal would meet Mr Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration, and advance his objective of reopening most schools

We not only have an economic imperative to act now — I believe we have a moral obligation — Joe Biden, US President-elect

by the spring. On a parallel track, it delivers another round of aid to stabilise the economy while the public health effort seeks the upper hand on the pandemic.

“We not only have an economic imperative to act now — I believe we have a moral obligation,” Mr Biden said on Thursday. At the same time, he acknowledged that his plan “does not come cheaply.”

Mr Biden proposed $1,400 cheques for most Americans, which on top of $600 provided in the most recent Covid-19 bill would bring the total to the $2,000 that Mr Biden has called for.

Washington, Jan. 15: President-elect Joe Biden has announced a $1.9 trillion stimulus package for the Coronavirus-sapped US economy, including direct financial aid to average Americans, support to small businesses and a national vaccination plan.

“During this pandemic, millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a paycheck,” Biden said in an address introducing the American Rescue Plan.

The relief package, announced on Thursday, includes $415 billion focused on combating the Covid-19 pandemic, over $1 trillion in direct aid to individuals and families and $440 billion in assistance to businesses.

It includes $1,400 in additional stimulus cheques to Americans, an extension for key unemployment programmes from midMarch to the end of September and an increase in weekly additional unemployment assistance from $300 to $400 and increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour over time.

Biden’s proposal also sets aside $20 billion for a national vaccination programme and $50 billion to scale up Coronavirus testing. During his election campaign, Biden made tackling Covid-19 and the

economic hardships it had put on Americans a core pitch to voters.

“It’s not hard to see that we are in the middle of a once-in-several generation economic crisis within a once-in-several generation public health crisis. A crisis of deep human suffering in plain sight. And there is no time to wait,” Biden, who is set to be sworn in as the 46th President of the US on January 20, said in his address from his hometown, Wilmington in Delaware.

Biden, a Democrat, described the outgoing Trump administration’s vaccine rollout as a “dismal failure.”