President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a plan to revive the American economy and kick-start it back on track with $ 1.9tn (£ 1.4tn) coronavirus stimulus planbefore taking office next week.
If passed by Congress, it will contribute $ 1tn to families, with direct payments of $ 1,400 to all Americans.
What Is Included?
The proposal includes $ 415bn to fight the virus and $ 440bn for small businesses.
Mr Biden, a Democrat, has vowed to fight the virus which has killed more than 385,000 people in the United States.
He campaigned last year promising to do a better job of managing the virus than outgoing President Donald Trump, a Republican.
The direct payments of $ 1,400 will be in excess of the $ 600 payments made in the aid bill last month.
Mr Biden’s suggestion comes as a winter outbreak of coronavirus breaks records.
Each day brings more than 200,000 new cases to the US and the daily death toll sometimes exceeds 4,000.
Joe Biden’s Speech
In a speech on Thursday night from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, he said: “The crisis of human suffering is obvious and there is no time to waste.”
“The health of our nation is at stake,” he added. “We have to work and we have to do it now.”
The next president said: “There will be stumbling blocks, but I will always be honest with you about the progress we are making and what challenges we are facing.”
Incumbent Vaccine System
Mr Biden wants to raise $ 20bn for Americans’ immunizations, including setting up more vaccine centers and sending mobile units to remote areas.
Two active drugs were sent under Trump’s administration, but health officials say the release needs to be accelerated.
“The vaccine rollout in the United States has been a dismal failure this far,” said Mr Biden. His administration aims to deliver 100 million jabs in 100 days.
To date, approximately 11 million doses of the vaccine have been given in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
His plan also calls for $50bn to expand testing and $130bn to help most schools reopen by the spring.
The program will fund the recruitment of 100,000 community health workers for contact tracing.
Direct Stimulus Checks
With nearly 11 million unemployed nationwide, additional unemployment benefits could rise to $ 400 a week from $ 300 a week now.
They will be extended until September, with the suspension of evictions and repatriation.
The proposal will bring family payments to the $ 2,000 demanded by Mr Biden and Mr Trump.
The president-elect will also ask Congress to double the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour – a Democratic priority that predates the pandemic.
Will The Plan Pass?
Republicans are likely to object to piling up trillions more in debt that the US has already incurred to tackle the pandemic, and the incoming president acknowledged his plan “does not come cheaply”.
But he will be helped by the other Democrats who control both chambers of Congress, if only by minor lead.
The beginning of Mr Biden’s term, however, will take place against the backdrop of a US Senate impeachment trial for his predecessor.
It is unclear how soon the Senate will proceed – or vote to convict President Trump – but the drama is expected to prove a distraction from the Biden agenda.
