Credit: William Lockwood
A massive federal COVID-19 relief package has been approved by both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
The $900 billion end-of-year coronavirus aid package received overwhelming support, including from Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick and senators Pat Toomey, a Republican, and Bob Casey, a Democrat. The aid was part of a $1.4 trillion overall spending bill.
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The aid package, which still needs to be signed by the president as of Tuesday afternoon, will give Americans who make less than $75,000 per year a $600 check in the coming weeks, add $300 per week in supplemental jobless benefits for 11 weeks, and commits billions to industries, like hospitality and airlines, for aid. It also sets funding for theaters and performance venues impacted by COVID-19 mitigation measures and schools and health providers, along with putting $25 billion toward rental assistance to states and local governments while extending the federal eviction moratorium until the end of January.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that checks could start going out next week.
The new aid comes as COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged across the country. In many parts of the nation, COVID-19 mitigation measures have led to businesses reducing staffing.
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“The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.
President-Elect Joe Biden is set to take office in less than a month and Democratic leaders in Congress suggested more aid would be on the way to Americans.
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“I applaud this relief package, but our work is far from over. Starting in the new year, Congress will need to immediately get to work on support for our COVID-19 plan,” Biden tweeted.
A large aid package in spring sent many Americans $1,200 checks and offered funds for businesses.
Fitzpatrick, who is part of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, called for a new stimulus package for months as both sides negotiated since summer and leading up to the election.
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During a Problem Solvers Caucus press conference outside the Capitol building in Washington D.C., Fitzpatrick said Monday evening that the fact it took months to get to a new stimulus bill was “completely and utterly ridiculous.”
“Is this a perfect bill? No. Is it a good bill? Yes,” he said.
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“We don’t allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good,” Fitzpatrick added.
Fitzpatrick appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box Tuesday morning. He stated that aid so far has been relief, but not a stimulus to spur the economy forward. He said infrastructure spending is something lawmakers should focus on coming out of the pandemic.
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Below is Fitzpatrick’s full statement on the aid bill:
“Although long past due, I am happy to see that we have finally passed legislation to fund our government and pass desperately needed bipartisan COVID-19 relief. Our Problem Solvers Caucus has worked hard for months, bringing all sides to the table, and developing a comprehensive COVID-19 relief framework and package that will deliver real results to those who need it most. This deal simply would not have happened without my colleagues on the Problem Solvers Caucus, who once again took the lead in forging consensus to bring people together to get this done.
For months, Congress left the American people in limbo, not knowing when the next round of relief would come. As we enter a new Congress, we have so much more work to do and we must continue to have good faith, bipartisan discussions to meet the needs of our constituents quickly and effectively. Our Problem Solvers caucus will continue to show mature leadership in this regard and will call out partisans from either party who allows politics to get in the way of doing their jobs.
With regards to government funding, it is unacceptable that Congress continues to delay funding our government until the last minute. This happens every year as a result of partisan bickering and it is entirely unacceptable. We should be passing twelve stand-alone funding bills early in the year, allowing Members adequate time to digest what they are voting on. Giving members just hours to vote on these critical matters is irresponsible and unacceptable.
We must change the current process to allow more input from individual members, and less from Congressional leadership. Both sides have enabled a system of continuing resolutions, government shutdowns, and last-minute deals. We are playing games with public services and paychecks. Enough is enough.”
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Below is Casey’s full statement on the aid bill:
“The COVID-19 relief legislation is a bipartisan compromise that will put money in the pockets of working families and invest vital dollars into vaccine deployment. While agreement on this latest COVID-19 relief bill is welcome and long overdue, the legislation is nowhere near what must be done to address the full scope of our Nation’s public health and economic crisis. Due to the intransigence of Senate Republicans, this relief bill does not include critically-needed money to state and local governments to prevent service cuts and layoffs of firefighters, law enforcement and local health departments. It also lacks meaningful policies and investments to protect nursing home residents and workers and to allow seniors and people with disabilities to receive needed care at home. I will continue to fight for these measures. When a new Congress convenes in January and President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are sworn in, we must begin work on bold, robust legislation that will allow America to build back better and provide families a full measure of support.”
Below is Toomey’s full statement on the aid bill:
“For the fourth time this year, Congress has passed major spending legislation to help the American people cope with the economic and public health fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is much in this bill that I disagree with, including wasteful government spending and misguided policies that will dampen the recovery, the good it does outweighs the bad.
“I am glad that Congress is extending unemployment eligibility for the self-employed and gig workers; reauthorizing the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses hurt by government shutdowns; picking up virtually the entire cost of the distribution and administering of the COVID-19 vaccine to the American people; and providing substantial assistance for education so children can safely return to school.
“In this legislation, Senate Republicans also secured an unqualified victory for taxpayers with the wind down of the successful emergency lending facilities established in the CARES Act – just as Congress intended and the law requires. Without these protections, the risk for mischief with the Fed’s extraordinary powers was far too real. Concerns about possible political interference are greatly diminished since the law now redirects more than $429 billion of unused funds to offset about half of the cost of this bill and ensures these facilities cannot be restarted or replicated in the future without congressional approval.”
The omnibus spending package also included the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act in it. The legislation will establish a Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C. honoring the contribution of American women and was supported by Fitzpatrick along with congresswomen Carolyn Maloney, of New York; Brenda Lawrence, of Michigan; and Eleanor Holmes Norton, of Washington D.C.
