Due to the crisis, Joe Biden signed two financial assistance decrees

he President of the United States, Joe biden, said today that the economic crisis induced by the coronavirus pandemic in the United States deepens, so I signed decrees to provide financial assistance to millions of Americans as Congress begins discussions on the $ 1.9 trillion package to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Executive decrees or orders Increase food aid, protect the unemployed and pave the way for federal government employees and contractors to earn a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour.

We cannot and will not let people go hungry. We cannot allow people to be kicked out for something that has nothing to do with them. We cannot see how people are losing their jobs. We must act now, the White House president said before signing the documents, informed AFP.

The government, Biden added in another part of its contacts with the White House-accredited press, has a moral obligation bring relief, but the decision is also an economic imperative.

We are in the midst of a national emergency, we must act on it, said the president, who stressed that the death toll from Covid will be “well over 600,000 dead”. Currently, the figure reaches 412,500 deaths from the disease.

The new administration officials had already argued the need to implement the measures, and to do so quickly: the American people cannot afford to wait, said the director of the administration. White House Economic Council, Brian Deese.

Many are hanging from a thread. They need help and we are committed to doing all we can to provide that help as quickly as possible, he added.

“This includes one in five black and Latino adults, according to the most recent survey,” he added, noting that a total of one in seven households have difficulty eating properly, the agency reported. AFP press release.

The executive orders do not replace the additional stimulus that Biden says is needed beyond the $ 4 trillion in aid already approved, including $ 900 billion in December. Several Republican lawmakers have declared their opposition to certain provisions of the Democrat’s plan to make direct payments to individuals, provide assistance to state and local governments and set the national minimum wage at $ 15 an hour.

Biden wants issue a decree “within the first 100 days” of its mandate requiring private contractors to pay a minimum of $ 15 an hour and guarantee their workers “paid emergency leave”.

“These measures will help make the federal government a model employer and restore the social protections for career civil servants that are so essential for the country,” the National Economic Council said in a note.

In a country where schools provide daily meals to students from poor families, an estimated 12 million children also do not have enough to eat.

Queues for soup kitchens have increased and food banks are overwhelmed, even in affluent Washington neighborhoods.

Most economists believe the United States can make a strong recovery once people are vaccinated against the coronavirus, but the situation remains difficult with the closure of businesses and schools. Almost 10 million jobs have been lost since February 2020 and around 30 million families do not have guaranteed access to food.

Biden has already signed an executive order to extend the moratorium on housing evictions for unpaid rent.

About 18 million Americans live on unemployment benefits. This grant has been extended until the end of September, as well as the possibility of taking paid sick leave in the event of infection with Covid-19.

Unemployment was 6.7% in December, a far cry from 3.5% a year ago, before the outbreak of the pandemic.