The package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to accelerate vaccine deployment and safely reopen most schools within 100 days
President-elect Joe Biden, joined by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, speaks at the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue package to combat the economic downturn and the COVID-19 crisis.
Image: Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue package to combat the economic downturn and the COVID-19 crisis, outlining the type of sweeping aid that Democrats have demanded for months and signaling the shift in the federal government’s pandemic response as Biden prepares to take office.
The package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to accelerate vaccine deployment and safely reopen most schools within 100 days. Another $350 billion would help state and local governments bridge budget shortfalls, while the plan would also include $1,400 direct payments to individuals, more generous unemployment benefits, federally mandated paid leave for workers and large subsidies for child care costs.
“During this pandemic, millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job and a paycheck,” Biden said in a speech to the nation. “There is real pain overwhelming the real economy.”
He acknowledged the high price tag but said the nation could not afford to do anything less. “The very health of our nation is at stake,” Biden said, adding that it “does not come cheaply, but failure to do so will cost us dearly.”
Biden took swift action to shape the agenda at a time of national crisis and a day after President Donald Trump’s impeachment in the House. While it reflects the political shift in Washington as Democrats take control of Congress, support for Biden’s program will immediately run into challenges, starting with the possibility that a Senate trial of Trump might delay its passage.
©2019 New York Times News Service