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Political News
Who Would Get What And When From The $2 Trillion Stimulus Package
Prince Charles has tested positive for the new coron- avirus, the British royals said Wednesday.
"The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coron- avirus," a statement said. "He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise re- mains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual."
The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, who is first in line in terms of succession to the British throne, is 71.
The news comes after vari- ous stars and personalities have tested positive. ABC's The Bachelor star Colton Under-
Medical experts are in agree- ment that social distancing is critical to preventing further spread of the virus, which has in- fected more than 50,000 people in the U. S. and killed more than 600. Nearly every state has is- sued some combination of or- ders to close schools and nonessential businesses or di- rected residents to shelter in place.
Trump has recently become impatient with the federal guid- ance for Americans to hunker down, citing the dire impact on the economy. But epidemiolo- gistshave warned that it's still too soon to allow parts of the
The White House and Sen- ate negotiators struck a deal early Wednesday morning on a massive $2 trillion package that will provide essential relief to an economy struggling amid the coronavirus crisis.
The $2 trillion relief pack- age is the biggest in American history.
The Senate approved the bill late Wednesday. The House needs to pass the bill before it can reach President Donald Trump’s desk.
Full details of the package have yet to be released, but some elements of the proposal are being touted among Re- publican and Democratic lead- ers on Capitol Hill.
Coronavirus government re- sponse updates: $2 trillion stimulus deal reached, Trump wants country 'open for busi- ness' on Easter.
Here are the key takeaways on who would get what and when:
Direct payments for most Americans taxpayers
Under the plan, individuals who earn $75,000 or less in adjusted gross income would get direct payments of $1,200 each, with married couples earning up to $150,000 receiv- ing $2,400.
An additional $500 per child will be tacked on to that.
The payment would scale down as income rises, phasing out entirely at $99,000 for sin- gles and $198,000 for couples without children.
Ninety percent of Americans would be eligible to receive full or partial payments, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center.
It’s unclear how long it will take the Internal Revenue Service to process and calcu-
late each and every payment. The White House has indicated that Americans could be seeing direct payments as soon as April 6.
Expanded unemployment insurance
Lawmakers agreed to a sig- nificant expansion of unem- ployment benefits that would expand unemployment insur- ance by 13 weeks and include a four-month enhancement of benefits -- an additional $600 per week - on top of what state unemployment programs pay.
In total, unemployed work- ers are eligible to receive up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits.
The program was expanded to include freelancers, fur- loughed employees and gig workers, such as Uber drivers.
The massive boost in unem- ployment insurance is ex- pected to cost $250 billion.
Small business to receive emergency loans
The legislation creates a $367 billion federally-guaran- teed loan program for small businesses who must pledge not to lay off their workers.
The loans would be available during an emergency period ending at the of June, and would be forgiven if the em- ployer pays its workers for the duration of the crisis.
According to Senate Minor- ity Leader Chuck Schumer's office, the deal also includes $10 billion in Small Business Administration emergency grants and up to $10 million of emergency relief per business. It allocates $17 billion for the SBA to cover six months of payment for small businesses with existing SBA loans.
It will offer $30 billion in emergency education funding and $25 billion in emergency
transit funding.
Big companies get cash
The plan includes loans for distressed companies from a $425 billion fund controlled by the Federal Reserve. An addi- tional $75 billion would be available for industry-specific loans, including to airlines and hotels.
This was a major sticking point for Democrats: they suc- cessfully pushed for oversight, including the installment of an inspector general and a con- gressionally appointed board to monitor the fund.
The plan also calls for an im- mediate disclosure of the fund recipients.
The stimulus bill also in- cludes a provision that forbids President Trump and his family, as well as other top gov- ernment officials and members of Congress from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus, ac- cording to Schumer's office.
As part of the deal, airlines will be prohibited from stock buybacks and CEO bonuses, Schumer wrote in a letter Wednesday to Democratic sen- ators.
Hospitals drowning under crisis to receive aid
The massive package also in- cludes $100 billion in assis- tance for hospitals and health systems across the nation.
Schumer said the plan of- fers “billions more” for critical investments into personal and protective equipment for health care workers, testing supplies, increased workforce and training, among other things.
Lawmakers also agreed to increase Medicare payment in- creases to all hospitals and providers, Schumer said.
PRINCE CHARLES
wood, 28, revealed his coron- avirus diagnosis, along with Watch What Happens Live star Andy Cohen, who tested positive Friday after a few days of self-quarantine.
Record 3.28 million People File For Unemployment During Crisis
'He Should Stop Talking': Biden Implores Trump To Listen To His Scientists
JOE BIDEN
country to return to business as usual, arguing that if there's a resurgence of infections it could cause even greater economic damage.
The coronavirus pandemic has quickly evolved from a health crisis to a financial one, shuttering businesses, upending entire industries and sending financial mar- kets reeling.
Here's the latest news on how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the economy. For more on financial resources
available during the pan- demic.
Record number of Ameri-
cans applied for unemploy- ment benefits
A record number of work- ers -- 3.28 million -- filed for unemployment claims in the week ending March 21, ac- cording to U.S. Department of Labor data released Thurs- day.
That's an increase of 3 mil- lion from the previous week.
Prince Charles Tests Positive For Coronavirus
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