Last week, President Donald Trump threatened not to sign a massive coronavirus relief package, saying $600 payments to Americans was “a disgrace” and there was too much wasteful spending involved. On Sunday, he signed the bill.
Lawmakers made little progress on a stimulus bill for months before reaching a compromise shortly before Christmas. The $900 billion bill included payments for Americans making up to $75,000 or couples making up to $150,000, as well as $300 per week to people needing enhanced federal unemployment benefits through mid-March, $69 billion total for coronavirus testing and vaccine distribution, $25 billion in rental assistance, $15 billion for theaters and other live venues, $82 billion for local schools, colleges, and universities, and $10 billion for child care.
Trump threatened not to sign the bill unless $2,000 payments were included to Americans instead of the original $600, but he relented Sunday. In a statement, he called on Congress to rework the package, saying he planned to line-item-veto several items he considered excessive.
Trump’s response to the bill last week was a rare agreement with Democrats, who jumped to support a suggestion that was later rejected by Republican leadership. The decision came too late to continue two federal unemployment relief programs which expired earlier in the weekend, but those will resume and the federal moratorium on evictions will continue. The bill was linked to an omnibus spending bill and Trump’s signature now keeps the government operating through September. Had the bill not been signed, the government would have shut down Monday night.
