After months of procrastination and on the verge of the end of year celebrations, Congress is finally preparing to vote next Monday $ 900,000 pandemic economic stimulus package, with a new round of checks for families and cash for businesses as the United States faces an uncontrolled rise in the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19.
Congressmen reached an agreement over the contents of the package over the weekend after days of tense negotiations.
Along with the emergency measure against COVID-19, the federal budget is also expected to be approved next Monday to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers have until midnight to make this happen.
[El COVID-19 deja más de 100 muertos cada hora. Otras 246,000 personas se contagian en un día]
The text has not yet been published, but it has been announced new checks up to $ 600 they will meet the same requirements as those approved in the spring.
Who will receive them?
- Those who make up to $ 75,000 per year.
- Those with children receive an additional allowance $ 600 for each of them (must be dependents under 17).
- Families with mixed immigration status (citizens married to undocumented migrants).
On this occasion, the check includes the citizens married to undocumented immigrants (who do not have a Social Security number), approximately 1.2 million individuals who were banned from the first round of checks for $ 1,200. These are Americans who filed a tax return with an individual using an individual taxpayer identification number instead of a Social Security number.
When will they arrive?
If approved, new direct payments will be sent as soon as next weekTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday, according to The Washington Post. In the spring it took two weeks.
Who else gets help?
The 11 million unemployed people leaving the country’s economic crisis will also have a relief: Unemployment benefits are extended, which expire on December 26, and an additional $ 300 bonus per week is added.
[Recomendaciones para evitar estafas en ofertas laborales]
The companies and companies those struggling to make ends meet, pay their rent and their employees can also apply for loans from the federal government. A fund of $ 284,000 million was taken up for this, which revitalized the so-called Paycheck Protection Program with subsidies for companies.
The economic crisis that broke out in the spring has shaken all sectors and millions families on the brink of poverty. In response, the new stimulus bill includes 13,000 million in funds for food aid and 10,000 for childcare.
There are also specific funds for this universities and schools, 82,000 million, and for theaters, cinemas independent and other cultural institutions, 15,000 million, according to the bipartisan agreement reached Sunday.
With the paralysis of the economy and the massive loss of jobs, the rent payment It was one of the biggest concerns of American families, especially the Latino community. The Democrats managed to withdraw $ 25 billion in rental assistance and an extension of the eviction moratorium that expired at the end of the year.
Those who were left without benefits
The package excludedBut hundreds of billions of dollars for states and localities, as well as funding for Medicare, the state health plan, and teachers and counselors who got into financial difficulties during the pandemic.
Republicans, for their part, have failed to add pandemic liability protection to corporations, universities and healthcare facilities, so they cannot be prosecuted.
More tests and vaccines
To cope with the pandemic, the federal government will also allocate resources 69 billion in funds for coronavirus testing and for the distribution of vaccines.
So far, two vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna, have been approved for emergency use, and the vaccination campaign has started nationwide for critical workers and people at high risk.
A first step and more help along the way
The new package will be an emergency and short-term emergency response until the first quarter of 2021. President-elect Joe Biden and leaders of both parties have said they plan to review this package next year.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, called him a “first step”.
“This is testament to the tremendous job challenge our nation will face,” Biden said in a statement Sunday.
Negotiations have been going on for months, but have intensified in recent days and hours, like the Congress also had to approve the federal budget for 2021, with a $ 1.4 million project pending for the remainder of the fiscal year.
[McConnell dice que el Senado no se irá de vacaciones hasta que apruebe nuevas ayudas]
After a deal failed Friday, congressmen were forced to provide temporary federal government funding over the weekend.
“There is yet to be a major bailout package for the American people,” said Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, leader of the Senate majority group, announcing the deal on aid law.
With information from NBC News, AP, Washington Post and New York Times.