US Congress passes USD 2 trillion stimulus package to sail through coronavirus crisis
The US Congress on Friday passed the historic USD 2 trillion rescue package to help the Americans and secure the country's economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic that has infected over 94,000 people across the nation. The bill among other things gives USD 3,400 for most of the American families of four, and billions of dollars’ worth of financial assistance to small and medium businesses, and big corporations like Boeing.
Lawmakers and the White House believe that the massive stimulus package of USD 2 trillion will give the much-needed stimulus to the world's biggest economy.
The House of Representatives passed the bill by a voice vote, a provision rarely used by the House for such an important financial measure.
The US Senate passed the bill with a massive 96-0 votes on Thursday. The magnitude of the package can be seen in the context that India, one of the top five economies of the world, is estimated at USD 3 trillion.
US President Donald Trump described it as the largest financial relief package in American history.
This, he said, will provide relief for American workers and families in this hour of need.
Trump is soon expected to sign the bill into law and the first stimulus check is likely to be sent to the Americans in the first week of April.
More than half of the country's 330 million population are now confined to their homes, Major Disaster Declaration has been announced in over a dozen States and a national emergency has been declared.
A record number of three million people have applied for unemployment, the entire travel and tourism industry have come to a standstill, companies have stopped their operations and only essential services are running.
The US now has more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world.
According to Worldometer, more than 94,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been recorded, 1,429 people have died of the disease and 2,463 people are in critical condition.
New York, which is the financial capital of the world, accounts for nearly half of the total cases and more than 500 people have died in the Big Apple alone.
The bill is bipartisan families and workers-first legislation that will bring urgently needed relief to families and small businesses all across this country, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
“With this bill, Congress has established strong, comprehensive programs— like a Marshall Plan for our hospitals and health system, help for small businesses, unemployment insurance on steroids, strict oversight, transparency and accountability measures and more— that put workers and people and our public health first.
"This legislation, while not a panacea, will address many of America's vital, immediate health and economic needs,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
“This is really historic, bipartisan legislation to kill this coronavirus and save US jobs and US business,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News in an interview.
“We're in an unprecedented situation where the government shut down major parts of the economy. So, whether it's unemployment claims, or other numbers, this doesn't reflect the normal economy. This reflects government action,” he said.
“That's why this historic USD2 trillion package, plus, another USD4 trillion we can use with the Fed, that's six trillion dollars to help save American workers and American business. And the president is fully committed that we are going to do everything in our power to protect workers and business,” Mnuchin said.
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