President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a proposed stimulus package in light of the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Thursday.
The $1.9 trillion proposal aims to combat the economic downturn brought on by the virus and would include $350 billion in state and local aid, $1,400 direct payments to Americans, expanded unemployment benefits and institute a higher federal minimum wage.
Read Also: Good News For Americans, Stimulus Check 2 Could Be Bigger
In a speech delivered Thursday in which Biden outlined his American Rescue Plan, the president-elect signaled optimism that it would ultimately pass after he takes office.
‘I’m convinced we are ready to get this done,’ Biden said. ‘The very health of our nation is at stake.’
The plan’s inclusion of $1,400 in direct payments (which would go to those making below a certain wage threshold) comes in addition to the $600 payments approved by Congress in December, though Democrats have argued that amount still isn’t enough.
Biden’s plan would increase federal jobless benefits from $300 (passed by Congress in December) to $400 per week.
The package would also extend two unemployment programs that were created with the first stimulus package, known as the CARES Act: The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program — which expands jobless benefits to freelancers workers, independent contractors and the self-employed — and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program — which provides 13 weeks of additional payments to those who exhaust their regular federal or state benefits.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
