Trump, under pressure, signs $900bn Covid relief bill

WEST BEACH: U.S. President Donald Trump eventually signed a huge $900 billion stimulus bill on Sunday after almost a week’s wait and despite criticism from both sides, in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and companies devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The “providing emergency response and relief for coronavirus” plan is part of a broader budget bill that would avert a government shutdown on Tuesday, with Trump’s signature.

In a statement from his Christmas break at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the president said, “I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add cash for PPP (Paycheck Protection Programmes), return our airline workers back to work, add significantly more cash for vaccine distribution, and much more.”

The reversal came after a day marked by calls for intervention on both sides of the political spectrum to avert an economic and social crisis, especially for disadvantaged people in America.

According to The Century Foundation think tank, two nationwide unemployment compensation programmes approved in March as part of an original Covid-19 relief package ended at midnight on Saturday, cutting off an unprecedented 12 million Americans.

The relief package, which was first approved by Congress on 21 December, expands certain benefits and other benefits that are due to expire in the days ahead.

Yet Trump had declined to place his signature on it for days, branding the bill a “disgrace” and with his grievances, which came after months of talks, taking both Democrats and Republicans off guard.

Influential Republican senator Mitt Romney said that at the signing, he was “relieved”. “Help for workers, families, and small businesses across the nation who are desperately in need is now on the way,” he tweeted.

He had previously encouraged Trump to “sign the Covid-19 relief package immediately or veto it so Congress can act before it’s too late.”

In his speech, the president continued to press for more than triple the $600 direct payments to US taxpayers spelled out in the bill, claiming that too much excess spending on unrelated services was contained in the law.

In order to make his thoughts public, he did not state why he waited until the bill was already accepted.

The new stimulus package expands federal assistance to disabled citizens by mid-March and offers subsidised grants and billions of dollars in aid to small companies, retailers, hotels, airlines and other businesses.

It retains the expulsion moratorium for citizens struggling to pay their rent, suspends foreclosures and offers funding for the delivery of vaccinations for Covid-19.

The assistance is crucial for the largest economy in the world, hit hard by the restraints placed in place to avoid the spread of Covid-19.

Tweeted Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, “I applaud the President’s decision to get billions of dollars of crucial Covid-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families.”

Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the House, called the bill “a down payment on what is needed to crush the virus, put money in the pockets of Americans and honour our heroes.” “We need to take further action quickly,” she said in a statement.

Romney was not the only politician who on Sunday had encouraged the president to change direction.

“I understand that he wants to be remembered for advocating big checks, but the danger is that if he allows this to expire, he will be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behaviour,” Republican Senator Pat Toomey told Fox News on Sunday.

“What the president is doing right now is incredibly cruel,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. “Many millions of people are losing their extended unemployment benefits,” he said on ABC.

“They will be evicted from their apartments because the moratorium on eviction is ending.” Sanders said that in the coming days, expanded direct payments could be accepted.

Tags: Trump