President Donald Trump signs $ 2.2 billion stimulus after quick votes in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump signed an unprecedented $ 2.2 trillion economic rescue package on Friday after swift and near-unanimous congressional action this week to support businesses, rush resources to overworked health care providers and help families struggling during the coronavirus epidemic.

Acting with unprecedented unity and determination since the September 11 attacks, Washington has taken urgent action to stem a free economic downturn caused by widespread restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus that has closed schools, closed businesses and brought American life in many places at a virtual stop.

This will bring emergency relief, Trump said, signing the bill at the Oval Office, flanked only by Republican lawmakers. He thanked members of both parties for giving priority to the Americans.

Earlier on Friday, the House of Representatives gave almost unanimous approval by voice vote after a passionate session conducted according to the guidelines for social distancing imposed by the crisis. Many lawmakers rushed to Washington to participate – their numbers swelled after a maverick Republican reported trying to force a roll-call vote – though dozens more remained secure in their district of origin.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously adopted the bill.

The American people deserve a government-based, visionary, evidence-based response to these threats to their lives and livelihoods and they need them now, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif .

The $ 2.2 trillion legislation will accelerate government payments by $ 1,200 to most Americans and increase unemployment benefits for millions of unemployed people. Large and small businesses will get loans, grants, and tax breaks. It will send unprecedented billions to states and local governments, and to nations, but beyond the overwhelmed healthcare system.

This pathogen does not recognize party lines, and no partisan solution will overcome it. The government will not do it alone either, said Whip Liz Cheney of the Wyoming GOP. Now is not the time to be cynical or invective or to guess. Now is the time to remember that we are citizens of the greatest nation on Earth, that we have overcome all the challenges we have faced and that we will overcome this one.

Despite reservations, archi conservatives joined progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., to support the bill, which quickly passed through Congress which was defeated by partisanship and is not out free from the suffering caused by the virus. Representative Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., Announced Friday that he had tested positive, just the last infection in Congress.

Tea Party Republicans have said government orders to close businesses deserve actions that conflict with the ideology of small government. The Liberals have accepted generous corporate bailouts that come with larger unemployment benefits, deferrals of student loans and a huge increase in funding for health care and other agencies that have responded to the crisis.

I will have to vote for something that contains things that break my heart, said Conservative Representative David Schweikert, R-Ariz.

Many legislators have invoked the bipartisan spirit of September 11 and the efforts to combat terrorism. Others praised the role played by low-income workers in keeping the country and the heroism of health workers. Some, like Iowa Democrat Abby Finkenauer, who had just learned of the deaths of two more coronaviruses in her district, almost cried.

Others could not contain their partisan impulses. Republicans have chastised Democratic leaders for delays and what they see as foreign arrangements, such as funding for public broadcasting and the arts; Democrats have said that too much is a bailout for businesses that may not need it.

However, in a chamber increasingly dominated by legislators whose main jurisdiction often seems to be partisan attacks, the debate on Friday was a notable pause.

We don’t have time to procrastinate, said representative Gerald Connolly, D-Va. We do not have time to engage in ideological battles or small supporters. Our country needs us as one.

The preparation for the vote contained a dramatic element, as the libertarian conservative Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Announced his intention to request a vote. The leaders of the two parties united to prevent this, as it would have forced lawmakers to return to the Capitol or tarnished their voting records if they stayed at home. Instead, they ensured that enough legislators would attend the Friday session to prevent the Massis from moving according to the rules, and legislators took the unprecedented step of sitting in visitor galleries to establish the necessary quorum.

The House quickly adjourned for a break of several weeks, but will return later in the spring to consider new legislation.

This bill is not just a bailout, it is a commitment – a commitment that your government and the people you have elected to serve you will do everything we can to limit the damage and hardship you face. are facing, now and for the foreseeable future. the future, said minority leader Kevin McCarthy.

Legislation will provide $ 1,200 in direct payments to individuals and give way to a stream of subsidized loans, grants and tax breaks for endangered businesses in an economic downturn caused by the self-isolation of tens of millions of Americans. It overshadows Washington’s earlier responses to crises like September 11, the 2008 financial crisis and natural disasters.

The huge CARES law began as a draft plan among Republicans controlling the Senate who sought to make their voices heard in efforts to respond to coronaviruses – particularly after Pelosi had been a dominant force in previous warrant-enacting legislation sick leave to companies.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Welcomed Democratic participation a week ago, and approved a major unemployment insurance expansion, but his efforts to freeze Pelosi and force a deal Quick were met with democratic demands for large infusions of aid to states and hospitals, as well as an assortment of smaller items. McConnell and senior Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York struggled for days, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other administration officials.

On Wednesday morning, negotiations finally reached an agreement and the Senate adopted the measure by 96 votes to 0.

Key elements have not been tested, such as small business subsidies to maintain workers’ wages and complex large business loan programs. Refunds will be paid to people who have kept their jobs. Agencies such as the Small Business Administration and state unemployment systems will be severely taxed, and the Conservatives fear that a generous new unemployment benefit will deter unemployed people from returning to the job market.

The bill is equivalent to a bridge loan for much of the economy and carries a price equivalent to half the size of the entire annual federal budget of more than $ 4 trillion.

The legislation also establishes a $ 454 billion program for guaranteed and subsidized loans to larger industries in the hopes of leveraging up to $ 4.5 trillion in loans to distressed businesses, states and municipalities.

An amount of $ 150 billion is also devoted to the health system, including $ 100 billion for subsidies to hospitals and other health care providers under pressure from COVID-19 files.

It also aims to strengthen the safety net for the poor and homeless. Schools and students would be relieved, payments for small business loans would be delayed. Evictions of social housing would be suspended.

Republicans have successfully claimed an employee retention tax credit designed to help businesses keep employees on their payroll. Businesses could also defer payment of the payroll tax by 6.2%. A huge tax break for interest costs and operating losses limited by the 2017 tax overhaul has been restored at a cost of $ 200 billion, a boon for the real estate sector.

Most people who get the new coronavirus have mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, which go away within two to three weeks. For some, especially the elderly and people with existing health problems, this can cause more serious illnesses, including pneumonia or death.