On Wednesday the U.S Senate unanimously voted for a $2 trillion bill to assist in the fight against breakout of deadly coronavirus which is spreading in the United States more rapidly than anyone could have anticipated.
Largely, this funds will be used to support unemployed peoples, purchase of critically needed medical equipment and injecting financial lifeline to companies worst affected by the pandemic turning out to be one of the world’s catastrophe in the twenty first century.
Following extensive consultations and negotiations by what appeared to be a divided senate on the matter, resulted to the senate voting 96-0 in favor of the bill.
Now the ball has rolled over to the court of the House of Representatives which is expected to vote in before the week wraps up. The House of Representative is also expected to formulate fiscal and monetary measures clearly highlighting how the funds will be allocated in the world’s largest economy.
Administration of President Trump has played a vital role into this deal, it has been responsible for uniting dissenting voices in the Senate bringing both sides to a consensus in the shortest time possible. Later on Wednesday while addressing reporters, President Trump said he won’t hesitate to instantly sign the bill once it has been presented on his desk.
According to the bill in context, $500 billion will be set aside for companies and sectors in the economy which have been hit the most by this pandemic. Additionally, U.S families affected by the pandemic will also receive a stimulus of up to $3,000 per family.
As of the time Senate passed the bill, 900 fatalities had been reported in the U.S due to Coronavirus with 60,000 individuals reported as having been infected by the virus. Only two other countries have reported a higher number of infected persons than the U.S. These two countries are Italy and China.
The main bone of contention on why the bill took prolonged sessions on delay, is that a group of Senators from the Republican wing were of the opinion that sacked employees are not supposed to be paid more unemployment benefits than what they were entitled on the previous jobs they held.
