President Joe Biden, riding high on a significant legislative victory in the US Congress, signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill at the White House on Thursday, marking one year of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said in the Oval Office before signing the bill. The new law provides for distribution of $1,400 in direct payments to 160 million US citizens, among other provisions, to help defray costs during the pandemic and stimulate the economy. The US Treasury Department will begin sending out those cheques as soon as the weekend, a White House spokesman said. The Democratic president plans to deliver a prime-time speech on Thursday night commemorating losses from COVID-19 while expressing hope for the future as vaccinations increase.Biden intends to convey fresh hope even as he urges people to continue to be cautious to prevent further flare-ups. It is a shift in tone from the president who has been warning Americans since taking office in January that more deaths and pain were coming.
In the past year, 530,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the US, one-fifth of all deaths worldwide from the virus. Now, with one out of 10 Americans fully vaccinated, infections and hospitalisations have been declining. “But more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next. I’m going to launch the next phase of the COVID response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people,” Biden said. Biden secured an early legislative victory this week as the Democratic-led Congress passed his $1.9 trillion pandemic-related stimulus bill, which his administration plans to highlight in coming weeks before pushing more of his campaign-trail “Build Back Better” plan….
Source:aljazeera.com
