Trump signs coronavirus stimulus bill with money for Americans. What happens now?
President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill into law in response to the coronavirus pandemic on Friday.
“I just signed the CARES Act, the single biggest economic relief package in American History — twice as large as any relief bill ever enacted,” Trump tweeted shortly after the signing. “At $2.2 Trillion Dollars, this bill will deliver urgently-needed relief for our nation’s families, workers, and businesses.”
The Senate approved the $2 trillion package Thursday. The House voted to approve the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act midday Friday.
After days of debate and negotiation, the U.S. Senate passed the stimulus bill Thursday with a 96-0 vote.
Debate over the bill
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Democrat running for his party’s nomination for president, clashed over the stimulus bill Thursday.
Graham and three other Republicans in the Senate opposed temporary increases in unemployment benefits, arguing that it was too much.
“This proposal will make it hard for our employers to maintain their workforce, particularly in the area of healthcare, thus, significantly delaying the economic recovery and impairing our health and safety,” Graham tweeted.
Sanders responded, “Unless Republican Senators drop their objections to the coronavirus legislation, I am prepared to put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the $500 billion corporate welfare fund.”
Social Security recipients to get checks under coronavirus stimulus bill. Here’s how
The Senate did manage to pass the stimulus bill Thursday and it does include the temporary unemployment benefits.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that the package does not go far enough. New York is now the hardest hit state in the country.
“I’m disappointed, I said I was disappointed. I find it irresponsible, I find it reckless,” Cuomo said in a Thursday press conference. “When this is over, I promise you I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.”
“The congressional action, in my opinion, simply failed to address the governmental need,” he said.
The package includes $5 billion for New York, earmarked for fighting the virus. The governor said the economic impact on his state will be more than $10 billion.
What is in the stimulus package?
The package includes a provision to send checks directly to many Americans. People who make $75,000 or less a year can expect a check for $1,200, plus $500 for each child.
The White House has said it wants to get stimulus checks out to people by April 6, but it will likely take longer than that. CNN and Fortune Magazine both report that it could take five to six weeks for the federal government to cut checks and send them out.
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The package also includes an additional $600 a week for unemployment benefits. The boost in unemployment benefits will last for four months.
The CARES Act delays student loan payments and gives relief for people with federally backed mortgages.
The package includes $100 billion for healthcare providers and hospitals, hundreds of millions for food assistance, and hundreds of billions for business and local loans and grants.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States is now higher than any other country, with more than 97,000 cases as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 1,300 people have died in the United States.
