Biden warns of “dire consequences” if Trump does not sign the economic stimulus plan… and millions of Americans may lose unemployment benefits today
On Saturday, millions of Americans may lose unemployment benefits provided by the government, with President Donald Trump objecting to signing a $ 2.3 trillion funding package for government spending and mitigating the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, saying it does not provide enough aid to the average citizen, while the US President-elect warned Joe Biden Saturday of “dire consequences” if Trump continues to delay signing the plan.
Trump surprised members of both the Republican and Democratic parties when he expressed dissatisfaction last week with the massive spending bill that provides $ 892 billion to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus, including unemployment benefits that expire on Saturday and $ 1.4 trillion for regular government allocations.
Without the president’s signature, about 14 million people will lose unemployment benefits, according to the Ministry of Labor data, in addition to the government halting part of its work, starting next Tuesday, unless Congress approves a government funding bill to fill this gap before that.
After months of wrangling, Republicans and Democrats agreed on the funding package early last week, with support from the White House.
Trump, who will hand over power to President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, did not object to the provisions of the bill before it was put to a vote in Congress on Monday night.
But he has since complained that the bill allocates huge sums of money for special interests, cultural projects, and foreign aid, while the one-time benefit of millions of affected Americans of $ 600 per person is minuscule.
And he demanded to raise it to two thousand dollars.
“I simply want every member of our great people to get $ 2,000 instead of the $ 600 in the bill now,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Saturday.
His refusal to sign drew a sharp rebuke from Biden, who called on the outgoing Republican president to act immediately.
“This abdication has serious consequences,” Biden said in a statement.
“The bill is extremely important”.
It must be signed into law now”.
Many economists agree with the idea that the subsidy provided by the bill is very small, but they believe that providing immediate support is still necessary and welcome.
A source familiar with the matter said Trump’s objection to the bill caught many White House officials by surprise.
Given that the president’s strategy toward the bill is unclear, his expression of repeated discontent dashes hopes of signing it.
Trump spent most of Thursday and Christmas day golfing at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
It is scheduled to remain on Saturday in Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida, where the bill was presented to him.
As for Biden, who Trump is still refusing to win the November 3 election, he is vacationing in his home state of Delaware.
