In the United States, the way is clear for the economic stimulus package to alleviate the devastating economic consequences of the coronavirus epidemic. It has a huge volume of $ 2 trillion.
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Leading Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer confirmed the parties’ agreement.
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(awp / sda / dpa) After days of strife, the U.S. government and Congress have agreed on a $ 2 trillion aid package to combat the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. “We have an agreement,” said President-General Eric Ueland in Washington early Wednesday morning.
Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer spoke of the “largest bailout package in American history”. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the aid an investment in the nation like it was in wartime. “We will pass this law today.” The House of Representatives is likely to follow a little later. The agreement provided relief on the financial markets.
Like a “Marshall Plan”
“Help is on the way, great help and quick help,” said Schumer. A Marshall Plan is being drawn up for hospitals and health care, he added, referring to the US post-World War II reconstruction program for Europe. McConnell offered rapid financial support to Americans who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and are having trouble paying bills. More money is also being pumped into unemployment insurance.
Small businesses should get emergency loans. “National key industries” would be “stabilized”. Hospitals and healthcare providers who urgently need medical equipment to care for patients are also being given financial help.
Speculation about the content
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Trump would definitely sign the law once it passed Congress. At first, there were hardly any specific details about the amount of the individual items. The legal text should only be published later in the day. We are talking about a $ 500 billion loan fund for industries that were hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Another half a trillion dollars will be made available to support millions of families with up to $ 3,000 each. A loan of $ 350 billion is expected to be released for small businesses. Aid should also flow at the state and local level.
A third of Americans have to stay at home
More than 50,000 people in the United States have contracted the novel corona virus. Over 660 deaths have been recorded. Thousands of companies had to shut down. Millions became unemployed and 100 million people – almost a third of the population – have to stay at home to curb the spread of the virus.
Dispute between the parties
Trump’s government, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating the stimulus package for days. The Democrats had failed the package twice. They justified this by saying that there was too little money for the states and clinics and too little aid for unemployed Americans. In addition, the opposition lacked adequate control over the large pool of money, which they believed should benefit corporations in particular. The Republicans, on the other hand, accused the Democrats of wanting to put things into the package that had nothing to do with the pandemic – aid for the expansion of renewable energies, for example.
Fireworks on the stock exchange
On Tuesday, however, there were increasing signals that both sides could still pull together. That helped Wall Street become one of the strongest price jumps in its history.
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