The president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Thursday an economic aid package valued at 1.9 trillion dollars (1.5 trillion euros) to face the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus crisis, which it has left more than 23 million cases and 388,000 deaths in the country.
“During this pandemic, millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job,” Biden began in an appearance held in Delaware, on the east coast of the United States, with the presence also of the who will be its vice president, Kamala Harris.
The future head of the White House has announced a new rescue and recovery plan consisting of “two steps”, the second of which, he said, will be detailed next month during his first appearance before Congress, but has advanced that Through a series of “historic investments”, 18 million jobs are expected to be created.
Biden, who has thanked the Republican and Democratic congressmen for reaching an agreement last December to launch an emergency aid package against COVID-19, has indicated that the first step of his rescue plan is focused on the fight against the pandemic.
Thus, within this plan, some 400,000 million (330,000 million euros) are contemplated for the creation of a national vaccination program, with which it is expected to reach about 50 million people, and the reopening of schools and educational centers during their first 100 days in the Oval Office.
In addition, some 350,000 million dollars (290,000 million euros) will be allocated to local and state governments, while the rest of the money will go directly to the pockets of US citizens affected by the crisis, through payments of up to 1,400 dollars (1,150 euros ) and other housing assistance, or child nutrition programs, for families with few resources, as well as for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the drop in income.
Biden has acknowledged that “it is a lot”, but has justified his ambitious plan by explaining that the very health of the United States “is at stake” and therefore we must “act now.” To do this, aware of the difficulties of obtaining approval, at least in the Senate, he has appealed to the need for “more bipartisanship.”
Despite the fact that the Democrats tied the forces in the Senate by obtaining their last two seats with the victory in the second round in the state of Georgia, and that they also have the tiebreaker vote of the future vice president, Kamala Harris, there is a faction more conservative within the party that might not endorse the plan due to its high cost.
It was precisely that reason that paralyzed for months an agreement between Republicans and Democrats to sign the previous economic aid plan against the coronavirus, valued at 900,000 million dollars (735,000 million euros), which includes checks for 600 dollars (490 euros) for families.
Last month, these aid began to be distributed, after several days waiting for the signature of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who during that time criticized the “ridiculously” low that the 600 dollars were and asked Congress for them. go up to 2,000 (1,600 euros) or 4,000 dollars (3,300 euros). The House of Representatives, led by Democrats, gave the green light to the project, but not the Senate, which did not hold a vote on it.
Only in the first week of January there has already been a 25 percent rise in applications to access these grants compared to the previous seven days, which means 1.15 million more Americans, as detailed this Thursday. the Department of Labor, which estimates 140,000 jobs lost in December alone.
During the last week, reports the Department of Labor, 284,000 applications have been registered to access the unemployment benefit destined during the pandemic to self-employed workers, who tend to stay out of the rest of the aid.
