{"id":45688,"date":"2020-12-28T09:07:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T08:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=45688"},"modified":"2020-12-28T09:07:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T08:07:01","slug":"trump-signs-900bn-covid-relief-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/trump-signs-900bn-covid-relief-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Signs $900bn Covid Relief Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"header-wrap\">\n<header id=\"header\">\n<nav class=\"cd-secondary-nav\">\n<div class=\"menu-main-menu-container\"><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"site-content cd-main-content\">\n<div id=\"primary\" class=\"content-area seo \"><main id=\"pb-root\" class=\"site-main container-fluid\" role=\"main\"><\/p>\n<article id=\"post-921534\" class=\"post-921534 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news tag-us-president-donald-trump\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-lg-8\">\n<div class=\"fcaption\">After delaying for nearly a week and under pressure from all sides, US President Donald Trump finally signed a massive $900 billion stimulus bill Sunday, in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\" data-io-article-url=\"https:\/\/punchng.com\/trump-signs-900bn-covid-relief-bill\/\">\n<p>The package \u201cproviding coronavirus emergency response and relief\u201d is part of a larger spending bill that, with Trump\u2019s signature, will avoid a government shutdown on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP (Paycheck Protection Programmes), return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,\u201d the president said in a statement from his Christmas vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>The turnaround came after a day marked by calls from all sides of the political spectrum for action to avert an economic and social disaster, especially for America\u2019s vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n<p>Two federal unemployment benefit programs approved in March as part of an initial Covid-19 relief plan expired at midnight on Saturday, cutting off an estimated 12 million Americans, according to The Century Foundation think tank.<\/p>\n<p>The relief package, which was first passed by Congress on December 21, extends those benefits as well as others set to expire in the days ahead.<\/p>\n<p>But for days, Trump had refused to put his signature on it, calling the bill a \u201cdisgrace\u201d and catching both Democrats and Republicans off guard with his complaints, which came after months of negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Influential Republican senator Mitt Romney said he was \u201crelieved\u201d at the signing. \u201cHelp is now on the way to workers, families, and small businesses across the country who are desperately in need,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier Sunday, he had urged Trump to \u201cimmediately sign or veto the COVID-19 relief package so Congress can act before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Crucial aid \u2013<br \/>\nIn his statement Sunday, the president continued to push for the $600 direct payments to US taxpayers spelled out in the bill to be more than tripled, and argued the legislation included too much excess spending on unrelated programs.<\/p>\n<p>He has not said why he waited until the bill was already approved to make his views known.<\/p>\n<p>The new stimulus package extends federal aid to the unemployed until mid-March, and provides guaranteed loans and billions of dollars in aid to small businesses, restaurants, hotels, airlines and other companies.<\/p>\n<p>It extends the moratorium on evictions of people unable to pay their rent, suspends foreclosures and provides funds for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>The aid is essential to the world\u2019s largest economy, hit hard by restrictions put in place to halt the spread of Covid-19.<\/p><div data-ad-id=\"32665\" style=\"text-align:center; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;float:none;\" class=\"afw afw_ad_image afw_ad afwadid-32665  \">\r\n                                                            <div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;color:#cccccc;\">Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.accessbankplc.com\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"auto\" max-width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Banner-1.jpg\"><\/a>\r\n                                                                        \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI applaud the President\u2019s decision to get billions of dollars of crucial COVID-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families,\u201d tweeted Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.<\/p>\n<div data-owo-type=\"widget\" data-owo-code=\"9b0ba25c-5faa-433c-af72-a94897eb2780\" data-owo-mode=\"smart3\" data-already-used=\"true\" data-owo-token=\"9b0ba25c-5faa-433c-af72-a94897eb2780-1\">\n<div class=\"owo-main-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called the bill \u201ca down payment on what is needed to crush the virus, put money in Americans\u2019 pockets &amp; honor our heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must quickly take further action,\u201d she added in a tweet.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 \u2018Chaos and misery\u2019 \u2013<br \/>\nRomney was not the only politician to have urged the president to change course Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he\u2019ll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire,\u201d Republican Senator Pat Toomey told Fox News on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Bernie Sanders said that \u201cwhat the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany millions of people are losing their extended unemployment benefits,\u201d he said on ABC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re going to be evicted from their apartments because the eviction moratorium is ending.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sanders said increased direct payments could be approved in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats in Congress sought Thursday to approve a measure to increase the direct payments in line with what Trump wants, but Republicans blocked it.<\/p>\n<p>It was seen largely as a theatrical move with little hope of passage designed to expose the rift between Republicans and the outgoing president.<\/p>\n<p>(AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After delaying for nearly a week and under pressure from all sides, US President Donald Trump finally signed a massive $900 billion stimulus bill Sunday, in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[7940],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-45688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news","tag-covid-19-package-relief"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site 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