US President Donald Trump has taken executive action to provide economic aid to millions of Americans hit by the pandemic, saying he was forced to do so after talks at Congress broke down.
The directives include measures to support the unemployed, suspend payroll tax and extend student loans.
Some of them are likely to face legal challenges given that Congress controls federal spending, not the president.
Democratic rival Joe Biden said they were “a series of half-baked measures”.
It is not known whether the move will mean the end of talks between senior government officials and top Democrats for a stimulus package. Negotiations broke down on Friday after two weeks.
Mr Trump said the measures would provide up to $400 (£306) per week in supplemental unemployment benefits to tens of millions of jobless Americans. This is less than the $600 people had been receiving until 31 July, when the benefit expired.
The president also said states would cover 25% of the new payments – the previous benefit was fully funded by the federal government. He is seeking to divert money from a previously approved disaster aid to states.
Mr Trump said it would be up to the states, which already face huge budget shortfalls due to the pandemic, to determine how much to be used from that fund to pay for the benefit. This means that the extra payment may end up amounting only to $300 a week.
“This is the money they need, this is the money they want, this gives them an incentive to go back to work,” President Trump said of the lower payments during a news conference on Saturday from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Source: bbc.com
The post Coronavirus: Trump signs relief order after talks at Congress collapse appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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