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Agencies

US lawmakers on Monday approved a US$900 billion relief package that will provide a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Overwhelming approval in the Senate and House of Representatives clears the way for the legislation to be sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
“The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately,” Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter.
The deal will spare millions of jobless workers who were days away from seeing their unemployment benefits expire, and provide a new round of cash payouts.
Small businesses will benefit from more government grants, while the package also includes rental assistance and help to families facing eviction.
“It’s a good bipartisan deal,” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday. “We will do some good with this legislation.”




But “as President-elect Joe Biden has said, it’s a first step, and we will need to do more. More to get virus assistance to crush the virus. More money to buy vaccines,” she said on the House floor.
The world’s largest economy is facing the world’s largest coronavirus outbreak, and the virus returned with a vengeance in recent months threatening a tentative economic recovery. The death toll has topped 319,000.
The massive package is part of a US$2.3 trillion “coronabus” bill that includes the omnibus bill to fund the government for the coming year.
Stimulus addiction may be driving the global economy towards a cliff edge
While congressional leaders agreed to the contours of a deal Sunday evening, the full details and text of the 5,593-page bill - thought to be the largest single piece of legislation in congressional history - were not released until a few hours before the votes were held Monday night, amid last-minute negotiations and even a corrupted computer file that slowed printing of the documents.
The rush frustrated rank-and-file lawmakers, who complained that the measure was just another in a long-term series of mammoth bills they were being asked to approve without adequate time to digest.

“Members of Congress have not read this bill,” Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “It’s over 5,000 pages, arrived at 2pm today, and we are told to expect a vote on it in 2 hours. This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking.”
Despite their frustration, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the massive bill.
It took months of negotiations to reach a deal. Republicans had to give up demands for liability protections for businesses. Democrats passed up funding for state and local governments and sought to frame the package as only a down payment for a bigger bill they hope to get approved next year.
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The measure will include a new round of pandemic relief payments, and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US$600 cheques will go out as early as next week.
That amounts to “US$2,400 for a family of four, so much needed relief just in time for the holidays,” Mnuchin said Monday on CNBC.
The bill would be the second-largest stimulus package in US history, behind the roughly US$2 trillion aid bill passed in March.


The US$600 payments go to Americans earning less than US$75,000 a year, and would be reduced for higher incomes, while those who bring home US$99,000 or more will not get a cheque.
The largest provision is the US$275 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) aid for businesses, which are government loans that convert to grants if spent on wages and rent.
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Amid reports that the Trump Organisation received past aid, the bill contains disclosure requirements for the president, vice-president, heads of Cabinet departments, lawmakers and spouses and prohibits those individuals from receiving loans in the future.
The agreement also contains US$25 billion in rental assistance, extends an eviction moratorium for one month.
Biden, who will be sworn in January 20, has welcomed the agreement but said much more will be needed to provide “support to struggling families, and investments in jobs and economic recovery,” he said in a statement Sunday.
Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press


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Coronavirus US

Congress approves US$900 billion stimulus package, sending to Donald Trump

Republican and Democratic legislators finally hammered out a stimulus plan after months of wrangling. Photo: Bloomberg

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The House was poised to vote Monday on a massive 5,593-page package of legislation that combines pandemic relief with a bill to fund government operations just hours after lawmakers got the text. Photographer: Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg

US Congress nears stimulus deal as ‘millions of Americans wait in food lines’

People line up to receive food items in Washington. Photo: EPA

10 December 2020, US, Kissimmee: An aerial view for volunteers distributing food to people in cars during the sponsored event "Share Your Christmas" by the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, at Osceola Heritage Park. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire/dpa

People walk past the US Capitol in Washington, DC on December 16, 2020. - Congressional leaders on December 16, 2020 said they were nearing a long-awaited agreement on a stimulus package for the US economy, while the Federal Reserve is set to provide updated forecasts on an uncertain outlook.A federal relief package to aid struggling business and jobless workers is seen as essential in getting the world's largest economy back on its feet amid a resurgence of Covid-19 infections. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

People line up for food at the St Clements Food Pantry in Manhattan, New York City. Photo: Reuters

‘Epic catastrophe’: America braces for millions of evictions as coronavirus aid talks stall in Washington

With tens of millions of Americans out of work because of the pandemic, many face eviction because they can’t afford to pay rent. Photo: AFP

epa08587581 People gather for a protest calling on New York to cancel rent outside of New York City Civil Court, where legal cases related to evictions are held, in Brooklyn, New York, USA, 06 August 2020. Tenant activists are calling on New York to cancel rent payments during the Covid-19 pandemic as many people in the region are facing economic hardship due to layoffs and furloughs. EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE

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Package aimed at throwing lifeline to nation’s pandemic-battered economy
The White House said US President Donald Trump will sign bill into law



The long-delayed aid package is aimed at throwing a lifeline to the pandemic-battered US economy.


Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

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Donald Trump

Congress approves US$900 billion stimulus package, sending to Donald Trump

Package aimed at throwing lifeline to nation’s pandemic-battered economy The White House said US President Donald Trump will sign bill into law

Package aimed at throwing lifeline to nation’s pandemic-battered economy

The White House said US President Donald Trump will sign bill into law