President Trump Signs Sweeping $100 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package
Richard Moorhead
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President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law on Wednesday afternoon, enacting the first piece of legislation within a broader coronavirus stimulus package expected within the next few weeks.
The bill, passed by the Senate in a 90-8 vote on the same day, provides more than $100 billion dollars in various forms to Americans currently impacted by the coronavirus epidemic.
The bill utilizes the resources in the form of emergency paid sick leave, child care leave, and buffed unemployment benefits. It makes coronavirus tests free with Medicaid funding.
Cooperation between Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and the President ultimately proved crucial to the prompt passage of the legislation.
McConnell described the ongoing coronavirus economic crash as “a time for urgent bipartisan action, and in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that will help even a subset of workers.”
$100 billion is no small sum, but the bill appears to be a mere prequel to an upcoming greater stimulus package. A bill pumping up to $1 trillion dollars into the economy is currently undergoing preliminary preparation in the Senate. The Families First Act was intended to provide aid to people and communities in situations where time is of the essence.
The upcoming stimulus package, under the direction of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is said to entail a form of means-tested basic income for all Americans. Mnuchin has already alluded to the possibility of the Treasury Department cutting checks to Americans by April 6th.
Such a stimulus approach differs from the 2008 bailout, which distributed wealth to Wall Street financial institutions that were instrumental in actually creating the recession. A Coronavirus Dividend would enable spending and saving for Americans afflicted by a situation that’s essentially an act of God.
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