US House passes $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill opposed by Trump and Republicans
The US House of Representatives has approved a $3 trillion bill introduced by Democrats to provide more aid for battling the coronavirus crisis and bolstering a shattered US economy.
However, the measure faces uncertainty in the White House and Senate where Republicans have vowed to block it due its massive price tag,
The Heroes Act, which passed on Friday largely along party lines, is the largest-ever US economic rescue package. Republican President Donald Trump has promised a veto if it were to reach his desk.
Trump has already signed four pandemic relief measures into law. They include a $2.2 trillion package in March and a $483 billion measure to pump additional funds into a loan program for hard-hit small businesses.
Many Republicans in both chambers of Congress have rejected the latest bill, calling it a “socialist giveaway” by Democrats.
"It's not a stretch to say that this bill is nothing more than a Democratic policy agenda masquerading as a response to the coronavirus crisis," House Republican Tom Cole told colleagues.
"The Senate will not pass this bill, the president will not sign it into law."
The US economy has suffered a devastating blow from the coronavirus outbreak. More than 36 million people in the United States –- about 20 percent of the population -- have filed for unemployment since the crisis began.
The United States has also recorded more than 86,000 deaths and over 1.4 million from COVID-19, far outpacing any other country.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday of an “extended period” of weak economic growth, citing concerns over how well future outbreaks of the virus can be controlled and how quickly a vaccine or therapy can be developed.
The top US infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Congress last week that US states lifting lockdown measures could lead to new outbreaks of COVID-19.
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