CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
Stimulus check 2 – Congress PASSES $900bn Covid stimulus bill as first $600 checks to be sent next week
CONGRESS passed a second Covid relief package on Monday night that will include $600 stimulus checks for most Americans.
The $900billion bill will now head to 's desk - with the White House already confirming that he plans to sign it in the coming days.
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Congress finally came to an agreement on the economic relief package late on Sunday following a weekend of negotiations.
Lawmakers also passed a $1.4trillion measure that will keep the U.S. government funded through September.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, speaking to CNBC earlier on Monday, said the deal is a "very fast" way to get money to the American people.
He said: "The good news is this is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy.
"Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week. So it’s very fast, it’s money that gets recirculated in the economy.”
"People go out and spend this money and that helps small business and that helps getting more people back to work."
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The top Trump official, who said he'd spoken with’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, several times, noted that "this is a large bill and has a little bit of everything for everybody."
Mnuchin confirmed a tentative $600 stimulus payout timeline after lawmakers finally finalized the relief package, which called "a good bipartisan bill."
"Everyone understands it's a first step," she said, noting that Congress will need to get "more to get virus assistance to crush the virus. More money to buy vaccines."
When the House Speaker took the floor on Monday, she also slammed the GOP reluctance to include state and local government funding, demanding "how do the Republicans think the vaccine gets disseminated?"
"Do you think these vaccines come into a state, [that] they go from the lab to your arm magically?"
Pelosi claimed it was clear that the White House hinged its hopes on "herd immunity," which she blasted as "crockery, springing from the Oval Office."
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Earlier, she said Trump "may want his name on that check" but declared that the name "of the American people" should be on it instead.
An agreement on had finally concluded after to reach a relief deal.
Under the current deal, Americans will pocket $600 in direct payments and a family of four could get up to $2,400.
The amount decreases for people who made more than $75,000 during 2019 and it's phased out completely for those who earned more than $87,000 last year.
The new package also includes a $300 per week bonus jobless benefit, half of what March's CARES package included.
Lawmakers also included $284billion for Paycheck Protection Program small business loans, $25billion in rental assistance, $15billion for theaters and other live venues, $82billion for local schools, colleges and universities and $10billion for child care.
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"As the American people continue battling the coronavirus this holiday season, they will not be on their own," Senate Majority Leader tweeted. "We will pass another rescue package ASAP. More help is on the way."
An embattled Congress has bickered and fought through several stalled attempts at providing more aid to Americans after the first round of stimulus checks were sent out in the spring.
The deal came hours before the federal government was reportedly about to run out of funds and was merged with the second piece of legislation to keep itself afloat through the end of the fiscal year.
The merged legislative measure will be Congress's last major act before adjourning for the year.
Trump larger stimulus checks - at a minimum of $1,200 and at most $2,000.
"Why isn't giving our people a Stimulus Bill?" he tweeted on Sunday morning. "It wasn't their fault, it was the fault of . GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments."
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McConnell had urged for an agreement to be made on a new coronavirus relief package on Saturday.
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"The American people cannot feed their families, or pay their bills with Congress’ good faith discussion," McConnell told the Senate floor, according to .
"They need us to act. We need to conclude our talks, draft legislation and land this plane."
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Second stimulus checks could be agreed in just HOURS as Congress holds rare weekend session to make a deal
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