Many will be happy to see any amount direct-deposited into their bank accounts via a new government stimulus package. Others, well, are feeling a bit shorted by the most recent COVID-19 relief bill.
Of the $2.3 trillion dollars approved, just $900 billion has been budgeted for emergency relief.
So what about the other $1.4 trillion?
Anyone who’s gone blind sifting through the 5,593-page package could tell you tens of billions of dollars have been earmarked for bailouts of mass-transit systems, grant programs for live entertainment venues, expanding broadband access and costs that go toward construction of the southern US border wall. Another three quarters of a billion dollars is heading overseas for Israeli defense purchases and Palestinian economic aid.
On Tuesday, President Trump urged Congress to more than triple its $600 stimulus payments to the American people. The bill also contains a $300 weekly unemployment supplement. The President posted a video message on Twitter calling the package “a disgrace” and “wasteful.” Trump would like to see the stimulus payments set at $2,000.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems satisfied with the passage of the bill. “The Senate just passed another major bipartisan, COVID-19 relief package. The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi echoed those sentiments in support of the legislation. “Pleased that we were able to get so much done #ForThePeople in the closing days of the 116th Congress.”