US President-elect Joe Biden announces Covid-19 stimulus plan to revive US economy

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced a USD 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to tackle the economic fallout from the pandemic, including direct financial aid to average Americans, support to businesses and to provide a boost to the national vaccination programme.

The relief package, announced on Thursday, includes USD 415 billion focused on combating the Covid-19 pandemic, over USD 1 trillion in direct aid to individuals and families and USD 440 billion in assistance to businesses.

It includes USD 1,400 in additional stimulus cheques to Americans, an extension for key unemployment programmes from mid-March to the end of September and an increase in weekly additional unemployment assistance from USD 300 to USD 400 and increasing the federal minimum wage to USD 15 an hour over time.

Biden’s proposal also sets aside USD 20 billion for a national vaccination programme and USD 50 billion to scale up coronavirus testing.

“It’s not hard to see that we are in the middle of a once-in-several generation economic crisis within a once-in-several generation public health crisis.

A crisis of deep human suffering in plain sight. And there is no time to wait,” Biden, who is set to be sworn in as the 46th President of the US on January 20, said in a televised address from his hometown, Wilmington in Delaware.

“We have to act and act now. This is what the economists are telling us. More importantly, it is what the values we hold in our hearts as Americans are telling us.

A growing chorus of top economists agree that, in this moment of crisis, with interest rates at historic lows, we cannot afford inaction,” he said.

The US is the worst affected country from the pandemic with 23,308,712 people hit with the coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus tracker. Announcing details of the American Rescue Plan, he said this will tackle the pandemic and get direct financial assistance and relief to Americans who need it the most. Biden said that in the first appearance before a Joint Session of Congress, he will lay out a Build Back Better Recovery Plan.

In just one year, nearly 400,000 Americans have lost their lives due to this deadly virus, and millions of Americans — through no fault of their own — have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job and a paycheck, he said. Some 18 million Americans are still relying on unemployment insurance and some 400,000 small businesses have permanently closed their doors.