President-elect to announce new COVID Relief Bill for Americans worth $1.9 trillion

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On Thursday evening, President-elect Joe Biden announced his $1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus economic relief plan. The legislation is considered expensive with three major targets. The first one is $400 billion for arresting the spread of COVID-19 and increasing vaccine capabilities. The second is over $1 trillion to assist families needing direct financial support. The third is $440 billion in emergency funds for cash-poor small businesses and communities. Biden calls for an additional $1,400 in stimulus checks for Americans in his American Rescue plan. It will bring the total stimulus to $2,000 on top of the $600 that’s already been approved. Other financial aid includes expanding unemployment insurance by $100 bringing the weekly total to $400, and an increase in the child tax credit to $3,000 per child.

The president-elect also needs to implement emergency paid sick, family, and medical leave, stabilize childcare centers with $25 billion in emergency funding, and forestall COVID-related evictions. Biden has also proposed $400 billion dollars to boost vaccine infrastructure. His major focus is to increase the number of community vaccine distribution locations. A senior official of the incoming Biden administration official reiterated confidence that the goal of providing 100 million vaccine shots in the first 100 days would be achieved. The official said the number is not dependent on an additional vaccine becoming available, like the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, waiting for authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine will be free and available to everyone under the proposed plan, regardless of immigration status.

Point to be noted that COVID-19 testing would also be expanded by an additional $50 billion. A 100,000-strong public health jobs corps would help spread factual information about the vaccine and to contact-trace COVID cases. Biden’s coronavirus package proposes $170 billion for updates to K-12 schools to prepare them for in-class instruction again. These funds could be used to decrease class size, modify space, improve ventilation, or provide additional funding for summer school to make up for a lost time. The higher-education institutions, including public colleges, HBCUs, and other Minority Serving Institutions could receive $35 billion in assistance. The Plan also says that millions of students could receive an additional $1,700 in financial assistance with this allocated money. It is noteworthy that Biden’s proposal to eliminate $10,000 of student loan debt is not included in this plan.