The United States Chamber of Deputies on Saturday (February 27, 2021) gave an economic stimulus package of $ 1.9 trillion to boost the country’s economy and help counter the Kovid-19. The text now goes to the Senate to vote.
Republicans unanimously opposed the bill. The two Democrats also voted against Kurt Schrader and Jared Golden. Nevertheless, the text was approved with 219 votes in favor and 212 against.
Republicans argued that the package had poorly targeted spending and did not include epidemic-related measures.
“It is not a bill of relief. He looks after Democratic political interests and fails to serve American families, “Said Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House.”We already know what the best stimulus plan is: reopening our economy completely.“
Democratic MP John Yarmath, chairman of the budget committee, countered. He said the legislationIncredible work that deals with the epidemic in all its manifestations and in a way that will be truly effective“.
One of the central issues in the debate was to raise the national minimum wage from $ 7.25 per hour to $ 15 per hour. According to Republicans, the target amount is not allowed under Senate laws.
To pass the Senate, the bill needs a simple majority. That means 51 votes out of 100. The House today has 50 Democratic and 50 Republican senators. In the event of a tie, the voting vote is for Vice President Kamala Harris. However, the case of the proposed minimum wage increase is different. It needs the approval of 60 senators out of 100.
Democratic senators are working on an alternative. Majority Leader in the House Chuck Schumer covers a section in the project, supporting penalties for companies that pay workers less than $ 15 an hour.
In addition to the minimum wage increase, the package offers:
- general help – an increase of US $ 1,400 in relation to the US $ 600 approved by Congress in December, a total of US $ 2,000;
- unemployment insurance – increase from US $ 300 to US $ 400 per week, increasing profit by September;
- National Immunization Program – approximately US $ 20 billion;
- Testing – US $ 140 billion for testing and other public health investments.
PANDEMIC EXPERIENCE
The United States approved 2 economic stimulus packages in 2020 to mitigate the effects of Kovid-19. The added amount is US $ 2.9 trillion, equivalent to 14.5% of the country’s GDP.
As a result, spending by the United States on the epidemic is already high on the Marshall Plan, the US government’s economic aid program for Western European countries after World War II. The Marshall Plan costs US $ 154 billion in inflationary amounts, and is 5.2% of GDP at the time.
First package was Approved by Trump in March 2020. Called the CARE program, it paid US $ 2 trillion for direct payments to families, helping companies in difficulties due to stagnation in activities and expanding unemployment insurance.
The other package was US $ 900 billion Congress approved in December. Among the measures adopted was US $ 600 aid for a portion of Americans, subsidies for businesses most affected by the ban measures and eviction from financial aid for schools, financial professionals and residents.
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