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WASHINGTON: The U.S. government headed into a chaotic final days of the year when President Donald Trump’s refusal to approve a $ 2.3 trillion financial package caused millions of unemployed Americans to lose benefits and threatened to close agencies Federal due to lack of funds.
Trump, who leaves office on January 20 after losing the November election, was pressured on Sunday by lawmakers on both sides to stop blocking the pandemic aid and government funding bill that was passed by Congress. last week.
The Republican president has demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for struggling Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
Many economists agree that financial aid in the bill should be higher for the economy to move again, but say immediate support for Americans affected by the coronavirus lockdowns is still urgently needed.
Unemployment benefits paid to some 14 million people through pandemic programs expired on Saturday, but could restart until mid-March if Trump signs the bill.
In addition to the uncertainty, the package includes $ 1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. If Trump does not sign the legislation, he will begin a partial government shutdown Tuesday that would put the incomes of millions of government workers at risk, unless Congress steps in with an interim measure that the president agrees to.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey told “Fox News Sunday” that Trump should pass the bill now and then push for more unemployment money later.
“I understand the president would like to send bigger checks to everyone. I think what he should do is sign this bill and then defend the case. Congress can pass another bill,” Toomey said.
“You don’t get everything you want, even if you are the president of the United States,” he said.
After months of arguing, Republicans and Democrats agreed on the package last weekend, with the support of the White House.
Trump astonished both Republicans and Democrats when he later said he was unhappy with the huge bill, which provides $ 892 billion in financial relief from the coronavirus, despite offering no objections to the terms of the deal before Congress. I will approve it on Monday.
Trump spent the Christmas holidays at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. On Sunday morning, he seemed in no rush to try to resolve the showdown with Congress as he spent several hours at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
He has also complained that the bill gives too much money to special interests, cultural projects and foreign aid.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers who participated in crafting the relief bill urged Trump to sign it immediately. But, they added, if he is determined to veto it, he should do so quickly to “allow supporters to act before it is too late.”
“This act will show your support for the American people who need emergency services such as food, shelter, unemployment benefits and small business assistance during these difficult times,” they said in a statement.
Senator Bernie Sanders said of the delay: “What the president is doing right now is incredibly cruel.”
“We are dealing with an unprecedented moment in American history. Many people are suffering,” he told ABC News’s “This Week.” Sanders, an independent who works with Democrats, urged Trump to “finally do the right thing for the American people and stop worrying about their ego.”
BENEFIT PAYMENTS
Americans are going through a bitter Christmas season amid a pandemic that has killed nearly 330,000 people in the United States, with a daily death toll now exceeding 3,000, the highest since the pandemic began.
The aid package also extends a moratorium on evictions that expires Dec. 31, updates support for small business payroll, provides funding to help schools reopen, and aid for the transportation industry and vaccine distribution. .
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, said Trump’s refusal to sign the economic stimulus bill was difficult to understand.
“I don’t get the point,” Kinzinger told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Unless it’s just to create chaos, show power, and be upset that you lost the election.”
The United States Congress, which is normally suspended in the last week of December, prepares to return to work.
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives plans to vote on legislation Monday that provides one-time checks of $ 2,000 to individuals, but Republican lawmakers are already concerned about the cost of the larger package.
Without enactment of the comprehensive aid and funding bill, the US government runs out of money at midnight on December 28. If the battle with Trump is not resolved by then, Congress must pass an interim funding bill or federal agencies will have no money to operate as of Tuesday.
That scenario could be avoided if both the House and Senate pass a separate funding bill for anti-pandemic legislation and the president signs it before midnight Monday.
