President Donald Trump planned to sign the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill on Christmas Eve but changed his mind, a source told CNN.
A desk and chair were prepared for Trump to sign the bill but as the 7 p.m. signing time approached, aides were told that he would not be doing so that night, CNN reported.
Because Trump signed the bill on Sunday and not before a Saturday-night deadline, the newly approved $300 federal unemployment supplemental benefit might now last for 10 weeks instead of 11 weeks.
President Donald Trump planned to sign the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill into law on Christmas Eve, assuaging a nation battered by the pandemic with more economic help.
By Cherranda Smith
On Sunday (December 27), President
Donald Trump signed the second stimulus package into law, putting $900 billion in play for providing relief from the pandemic’s economic toll.
The bill marks the second-largest federal stimulus package following the $2 trillion CARES Act approved in March at the start of the pandemic.
Congress passed the bill last Monday (December 21), following months of stalled negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. A bipartisan group of lawmakers worked on the new stimulus, in time before essential programs from the CARES Act were set to expire, including eviction protection and unemployment assistance. Here s what inside for millions in need.
AUGUSTA – With President Donald Trump signing bipartisan COVID-19 relief legislation, extending federal unemployment programs Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), the Maine Department of Labor is reviewing the legislation and working to implement the changes as quickly as possible, the organization announced in a news release.
“The PUA and PEUC programs ended on December 26. This interruption in the programs will cause at least a one week delay in people receiving their federal benefits. However, we are relieved that the bi-partisan COVID relief package has been signed by the President,” Commissioner Laura Fortman said. “Unemployment benefits are a lifeline for thousands of Maine people right now. MDOL will work as quickly as possible to ensure people can continue to provide the basic necessities for themselves and their families.”
US President Donald Trump has signed the massive US$2.3 trillion (A$3 trillion) coronavirus relief and government funding bill into law, averting a government shutdown that was set to begin tomorrow, and extending billions of dollars in coronavirus aid to millions.
Aides had prepared for the president to sign the bill as early as Christmas Eve, when it arrived at Mar-a-Lago for his signature. But the plan was scrapped at the last minute, two sources with knowledge of the circumstances told CNN.
As a result, critical benefits had lapsed for millions of jobless Americans on Saturday evening.
People take pictures of themselves with the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York on Christmas Day. The coronavirus upended Christmas traditions, but determination and imagination kept the day special for many.(AP)
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