[ad_1]
President Biden led a celebration at the Rose Garden of his newly signed $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill on Friday – but he did not include any Republican and he still has a times answered journalists’ questions.
Biden launched his public relations campaign to promote the bill which passed with only Democratic votes after signing it on Thursday, and he returned to many themes in his prime-time Thursday night speech.
“It’s not over yet, conditions may change. We’re not done yet… Scientists have warned us about new variants of this virus, and the devil is in the details of how this legislation will be implemented, ”Biden said.
The president was joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and a socially estranged group of other Congressional Democrats.
Biden insisted Republican voters support his first major legislative achievement as president, even though he failed to win a Republican vote as Democrats slammed into Congress under budget reconciliation rules.
“What you have guided through Congress is not just meeting the moment. He does even more. It’s historic and they call it transformational. And it really is, ”Biden said.
“We show that it is possible to accomplish great, important things.”
The bill gives $ 1,400 in stimulus checks to Americans who earn less than $ 75,000 a year and extends a weekly unemployment supplement of $ 300 until September 6.
“For a typical family of four, a middle class family, a husband and wife earning $ 110,000 – here that means a check for $ 5,600 that they will receive. 85% of American households will receive this money, ”Biden said.
The package contains $ 350 billion in state and local aid and $ 75 billion for COVID-19 vaccination, testing and other medical supplies in the event of a pandemic.
Some Republicans have denounced the bill as “socialism,” but Biden hit back with a glance at Republican tax policies in his remarks.
“It changes the paradigm. For the first time in a long time, this bill puts the workers of this country first. This is not hyperbole. It’s a fact, ”Biden said.
“This is the first time that we have been able – since the Johnson administration and maybe even before that – to begin to shift the paradigm. We have seen time and time again that runoff does not work. “
Biden said, “It’s time we built an economy that grows from the bottom up and from the middle out.”
But Biden, who has not held a press conference since taking office more than 50 days ago, once again ignored questions asked by a reporter before returning to the White House. Later, as he left for Delaware, Biden ignored another question about the fate of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The stimulus bill grants $ 1,400 in stimulus checks to adults earning up to $ 75,000 a year, with smaller amounts for employees under $ 80,000. An additional check of $ 1,400 is awarded for each dependent child, but compared to older stimulus checks, income limits also apply to children’s checks.
Parents also get a new annual tax credit of $ 3,000 to $ 3,600 per child in the bill, up from $ 2,000 per child currently.
The bill establishes 15 weeks of paid leave for federal workers, including employees of the U.S. Postal Service, for COVID-19-related reasons, including child care for children who do not have a school or daycare.
It creates a new $ 25 billion subsidy program specifically for bars and restaurants that will compensate for lost income and allow the government to reimburse health insurance premiums for people who remain on their employer’s policies afterwards. have lost their job.
It also offers more than $ 120 billion for K-12 schools, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 90% will not be spent in 2021 because funds approved for schools last year were not spent. .
Republicans said the bill was a waste and could spur inflation and criticized Biden’s prime-time speech for claiming credit for the expansion of COVID-19 vaccinations without mentioning that the he administration of former President Donald Trump has invested billions in vaccine research and development.
Biden said in the rose garden he was concerned that people did not trust the government, implicitly hitting his predecessor.
“Look, one of the things that worries me the most – and I think you all have it too, especially those of us who have been here for 100 years like me – is that you’ve seen people lose faith in government, just lose faith in what we’re telling the truth, ”Biden said.
[ad_2]
Source link