Trump signs $484 billion virus rescue package
WASHINGTON » President Donald Trump on Friday signed a $484 billion spending package that includes more money for small businesses, the latest bid by Washington lawmakers to rescue an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Great for small businesses, great for workers,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “This is a tremendous victory.”
The new law would revive a small-business loan program that ran out of money after being overwhelmed by demand, deliver tens of billions of dollars in aid to health care providers and provide $25 billion to expand U.S. testing for infection by the virus. An enduring shortage of testing has hamstrung the government’s response and become a point of tension between Trump and U.S. governors.
Highlighting the depth of the economic collapse, lawmakers are already discussing the next phase of virus rescue legislation. The Labor Department reported Thursday that another 4.4 million people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total since March 14 to 26.5 million.
But no further action is expected until at least next month, with Republicans and Democrats divided over how much more aid to provide and where it should go. Congress is not scheduled to be in session until May 4.
The newest measure is the fourth coronavirus-related spending package since early March, totaling almost $3 trillion — an unprecedented amount of federal assistance that far surpasses the sums doled out following the 2008 financial crisis.
The law would provide $320 billion to make new loans under the Paycheck
Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small business that keep employees on the payroll for eight weeks. It sets aside $30 billion of the loans for banks and credit unions with $10 billion to $50 billion in assets, and another $30 billion for even smaller institutions.
The measure also includes $60 billion in loans and grants under a separate Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and makes farms and ranches eligible for the loans. Hospitals could receive $75 billion, with a significant portion aimed at those in rural areas.
Debate over the next round of stimulus has centered on whether states should receive a federal bailout. Several states that were already struggling with high public employee pension costs are facing even greater budget crunches due to the pandemic response.