President Donald Trump has signed the $100 billion dollar coronavirus emergency bill hours after it was approved by the Senate.
According to the Daily Mail, President Trump signed the bill Wednesday evening after it passed 90-8 in the Senate earlier in the day. The bill will provide safety-net programs for American citizens who were affected by COVID-19 and the benefits include paid sick and family leave. It will also include free testing for Americans who want to know their status.
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Trump said in a statement prior to signing the bill that he would use the Defense Production Act to help combat the coronavirus although he faced controversy for naming it the “Chinese virus.”
‘I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst-case scenario in the future. Hopefully, there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!’
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Currently, there are 7,898 cases in the United States and unemployment rates have gone above 3.5 percent due to the number of businesses closing down and following local regulations for quarantine. Legislators are also in the process of creating another emergency package that would be at an estimated cost of $1.3 trillion, providing funding for small businesses, airlines and other aspects affected by the declining economy.