The massive stimulus bill was passed through Congress without any actual backing from the Republicans.
On Thursday afternoon, US President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus package as the coronavirus relief bill. The President’s approval comes immediately after the House of Democrats approved the bill earlier this week.
This is the first major stimulus bill passed by the President after joining the White House in January 2021. The stimulus aims to provide direct payments of $1400 to most Americans. Soon after the President signing the bill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the direct deposits will start hitting bank accounts by the weekend.
The bill comes along with a $300 per week unemployment insurance boost extended up to September 6, 2021. Besides, it also expands the child tax credit for a year. From the entire bill, $350 billion will go for local, state, and tribal relief. Also, $25 billion will go to rental and utility assistance while $20 billion goes towards COVID-19 vaccinations. Before signing the legislation, President Biden said:
“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country. And giving people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, the people who built this country, a fighting chance.”
While the Democrats have called this bill necessary for economic recovery, the Republicans have criticized it on the other end. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. said:
“The American people already built a parade that’s been marching toward victory. Democrats just want to sprint to the front of that parade and claim credit.”
Republicans Object to the Stimulus Bill Signed by Biden
The House of Democrats as well as the as the Senate pushed the bill earlier this week via a reconciliation process. The massive bill was passed through Congress without any backing from the Republicans. However, actually, their support was not needed for teh bill to be passed as according to the relevant laws a simple majority principle is applied to the decisions that impact teh national budget.
Despite some frightening tendencies in the further spread of the pandemic across the globe, the US president seems to be quite optimistic when it comes to the fight against the virus.
“If we all do our part, this country will be vaccinated soon, our economy will be on the mend, our kids will be back in school, and we’ll have proven once again that this country can do anything,” Biden noted in his speech.
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