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President Donald Trump signed a new $900 billion stimulus plan for the United States economy on Sunday.
Trump signed the $2.3 trillion bill Sunday afternoon at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, residence, where he is on vacation, the White House confirmed.
That package, known as an Omnibus Bill, includes the second stimulus plan approved this year in the U.S. and $1.4 trillion to fund the Administration through September 2021.
After five days refusing to sign the bill while demanding changes, Trump apparently backed down to prevent funds for the Administration from being cut off on Monday night as hundreds of thousands of government employees would see their pay suspended.
“I sign this Omnibus and covid-19 package with a strong message that makes it clear to Congress that the wasteful items in the bill must be withdrawn” from the text, Trump said in a statement.
The president assured that, despite signing the bill, he still expects Congress to approve a change in the item that contemplates sending a one-time payment of $600 to millions of taxpayers to compensate for the ravages of the pandemic.
After his own government negotiated the amount of $600, Trump demanded to raise that amount to $2,000, and in his statement he recalled that the House of Representatives was scheduled to vote this Monday to make that change, something that Republican leaders oppose.
Trump assured that the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, “will begin the process to vote to increase the checks to $2,000.”
Trump also said he will return the Administration’s funding plan with underlined parts to Congress for rescind.
The bailout Trump signed includes $300 a week in unemployment benefits, $325 billion in business aid ($275 billion of it for payroll), $45 billion for public transportation systems, $82 billion for schools and billions in food stamps, renter assistance and vaccine distribution.
