US President Donald Trump has signed a USD 900 billion worth of relief package on Sunday, December 27.
Trump signed a $2.3 trillion funding measure, including $900 billion for coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion for government funding through next September.
Without Trump’s signature or passage of a stopgap measure to fund operations, a partial government shutdown would have begun from 29 December. Increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired early on 27 December.
The signing of the bipartisan, bicameral coronavirus relief legislation was welcome news for the fourteen million Americans who just lost the lifeline of unemployment benefits on Christmas weekend. The fund will also help millions more struggling to stay afloat during this historic pandemic and economic crisis.
The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more.
The main objections of Trump to the funding package were what he said were insufficient $600 per person coronavirus relief payments, as well as funding for multiple government programs such as foreign aid and scientific research.
“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said in a statement.
“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump added
Several lawmakers on December 27 had railed against President Trump and demanded him to sign the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill and $1.4 trillion government funding measure passed by Congress on the third week of December.
