Checks are on the way
DON INKS $2.2T AID PACKAGE
Relief is finally on the way.
President Trump signed the largest stimulus package in American history into law Friday to juice up a flailing economy and deliver emergency relief to millions of workers, companies and state governments staring down financial ruin because of the coronavirus.
“We have never signed a bill of this magnitude … That’s pretty good,” Trump said at the White House after signing the colossal $2.2 trillion rescue measure. “I want to thank Republicans. I want to thank Democrats.”
Despite the olive branch, Trump only invited Republicans to an Oval Office signing ceremony, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
The bill — which passed both chambers of Congress in overwhelming votes this week — bankrolls direct payments of up to $1,200 to most taxpayers, bolsters unemployment benefits, provides loans, grants and tax breaks to small and large businesses and funnels billions more into state government coffers and the nation’s teetering healthcare system.
With Trump’s signature in the books, the sorely-needed cash will start flowing immediately.
However, in an unexpected move, the White House quietly announced after Trump signed the bill that he would override some provisions that require the administration to comply with requests for congressional oversight of the legislation’s $500 billion pot of subsidized loans for major corporations.
The last-minute tweak is likely to stoke outrage among Democrats.
The Senate approved the bill in a unanimous vote Wednesday, and the House followed suit Friday afternoon — a remarkably fast turnaround for legislation with a price tag that’s more than half the size of the federal government’s entire annual budget.
Democratic and Republican leaders in the House initially hoped to rubber-stamp the bill via a quick voice vote, which would have allowed most members to stay home.
“The American people deserve a government-wide, visionary, evidence-based response to address these threats to their lives and their livelihood — and they need it now,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the floor.
But conservative Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie became the most hated man in Washington as he demanded a quorum call, requiring at least 216 lawmakers to show up for the voice vote in blatant violation of federal recommendations for social distancing.
Massie pulled off the stunt even as the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. soared above 100,000 — more than any other country — with more than 1,500 people dead.
Even Trump lambasted Massie, marking a rare rebuke of a member of his own party.
“Throw Massie out of Republican Party … He is a disaster for America, and for the Great State of Kentucky!” Trump tweeted.
Massie whined that the bill contained a few unnecessary millions of dollars in emergency funding for the Kennedy Center and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He also suggested his opposition was based on a lofty commitment to parliamentary procedure.
Alone in his quest, Massie’s attempt to derail the legislation predictably failed.
Members on both sides of the House aisle erupted in cheers after the bill passed in a roaring chorus of “aye” votes.
Staten Island-Brooklyn Rep. Max Rose did not mince words about Massie, calling the Kentucky congressman “un-American” and saying he has “blood on his hands.”
“This is a war that we are fighting. If Mr. Massie had delayed resources for our soldiers, I’d be reacting in exactly the way I am reacting
right now — which is utter disgust, fury and anger,” Rose, a U.S. Army veteran, told the Daily News after the vote.
Despite the bipartisan momentum, Massie wasn’t alone in finding portions of the bill detestable.
Queens-Bronx Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who begrudgingly voted aye, lambasted Republicans in an impassioned floor speech over the $500 billion “slush fund” for corporations included in the legislation — which the Trump administration is now trying to exempt from some oversight.
“What did the Senate majority fight for? One of the largest corporate bailouts with as few strings as possible in American history. Shameful!” Ocasio-Cortez said at the top of her voice before the vote.
Nonetheless, the billions of dollars in emergency cash could not have come sooner.
The Labor Department reported a stunning 3.3 million unemployment claims across the country last week, as thousands of businesses are forced to shutter because of the fast-spreading virus, leaving millions of workers without paychecks.
Meanwhile, Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, cautioned this week that the U.S. “may well” already “be in recession,” with stock markets plummeting, hospitals overcrowding and state budgets cratering.
The multitrillion-dollar bill, which was primarily hashed out in around-theclock Senate negotiations this week, aims to prop up the economy across-the-board.
The most immediate benefit is ostensibly the direct payments that the government will begin issuing to taxpayers as early as next week.
Those earning less than $75,000 per year will get the biggest chunk, receiving $1,200 checks each. The free money subsidies are phased down by $5 for every $100 earned above $75,000 and cut off entirely at $99,000.
The legislation also boosts unemployment benefits by $600 a week across all 50 states for the coming four months.
People who are generally ineligible for unemployment insurance, including gig workers and independent contractors, will be able to apply for the beefed-up benefits under the new legislation.
Small business owners are also offered relief, with nearly $400 billion earmarked for low-interest loans and grants to help them stay afloat through the pandemic.
Most of the other provisions in the bill are aimed at propping up corporations instead of people in an extraordinary government reach into the private sector not seen since the Great Depression.
Despite the unprecedented action, Pelosi said her caucus will immediately get to work on another rescue bill.
The next package should ensure free coronavirus treatment and more money for states hemorrhaging cash because of the virus, including New York, which will suffer a budget shortfall of at least $10 billion as it continues to battle the worst outbreak in the country, according to state officials.
“This cannot be our final bill,” Pelosi said.
Rose chimed in, “This is just the beginning … New York needs more help.”