The Covid-19 pandemic has left many jobless and some even destitute.
The governments of affected nations have had to bail out businesses and support residents through this financially tough time.
In the US, millions of families on the cusp of eviction were supposed to receive some financial support from the federal government as part of a US$892 billion coronavirus relief bill, but this hasn’t happened yet.
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And if I say it’s all because of one man, you can probably guess who.
Trump Wants to Give USD$2,000 to Each American for COVID-19 Aid
The fact that US President Donald Trump delayed a bill that was approved by Congress isn’t surprising.
But one of his reasons for doing so certainly is, given his track record.
According to Reuters, Trump said the coronavirus relief bill did not provide enough support for small businesses.
He also believed the stipulated US$600 stimulus checks designated for each American were “ridiculously low”, and demanded that citizens receive US$2,000 instead.
Economists agree the bill’s aid is too low, but this delay has left millions of Americans teetering on the edge of financial ruin.
The US$892 billion bill includes the extension of two programs which support self-employed workers and the long-term unemployed until mid-March next year.
It also adds an extra US$300 per week in aid to the 20.3 million people receiving unemployment benefits.
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Ironically, though Trump rejected the bill because he felt Americans weren’t receiving enough financial support, they’re getting nothing at all now.
Financial support packages doled out earlier this year are depleting for households, meaning they could end up falling further behind on housing payments and other bills.
What’s more, it might even leave some Americans homeless.
The bill also extends a moratorium on evictions that expires on 31 Dec to the end of January next year.
Without this extension, landlords can evict tenants who can’t afford to pay rent.
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What’s more, the bill also provides US$25 billion in emergency rental assistance.
An estimated 40 million people could face eviction over the next several months, according to research from the Aspen Institute.
Gov Might Shut Down (Again)
Since delaying the coronavirus bill, Trump vetoed yet another bill.
On Wednesday (23 Dec), the president vetoed a US$740 billion defence bill to fund the military for 2021.
The bill has been passed every year in the US since 1961.
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The bill includes pay raises for America’s soldiers and modernizations for equipment, among other things.
Trump said he vetoed the bill for several reasons:
- it includes a provision to rename military bases currently named after generals who fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the Civil War
- he believes the bill helps Russia and China
- he believes it protects social media companies (some of which have fact-checked him on their platforms)
According to Reuters, if Trump does indeed block this bill, large parts of the US government could start to shut down due to a lack of funds.
This couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the authorities are distributing two Covid-19 vaccines and working to respond to a massive cyber attack.
It isn’t too surprising, however, as Trump has done this before.
In 2018, Trump rejected a federal spending Bill because he claimed it provided insufficient funding for building a US-Mexico border wall.
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This led to a record 35-day government shutdown.
The defence bill was passed by a high enough number of both Democrats and Republicans, meaning they could override the president’s rejection.
But such an outcome seems unlikely, given how some Republicans won’t even admit that Trump lost the presidential election.
Featured Image: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com
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