WASHINGTON, D.C. — A $2.2 trillion relief package to combat the coronavirus and help the economy has been signed into law by President Trump after the U.S. House of Representatives passed it Friday afternoon.
- “Phase 3” relief package includes checks to many Americans
- 12/16 Ohio U.S. House members came back to D.C. for the vote
- Discussions already starting about what should be in “Phase 4”
Of Ohio’s 16 U.S. House members, 12 returned to Washington on Friday to make sure the massive relief package was passed without further delay.
“We needed to make sure that the American economy continues to be the strongest economy on the globe, and it is, but it’s obviously tough right now,” said Rep. Steve Chabot (R, 1st Congressional District). "So it was an important thing to be here.”
Some of Ohio’s members, like Chabot and Rep. Dave Joyce (R, 14th Congressional District) got on nearly-empty airplanes to be here for the vote. Other members drove in.
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie tried to delay passage of the legislation by demanding all House members return to D.C. to vote in-person, but enough showed up to override him and push the relief package through.
“The bill wasn’t perfect by any means, but if it unites our country and gets us moving forward, it’s something that I think, hopefully, will provide some future benefits as we move forward,” Rep. Joyce said.
This “Phase 3” coronavirus package is the largest one-time spending bill in U.S. history; and it comes after Congress passed “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” packages worth a combined $108 billion.
Here’s some of what’s included in the latest one:
- $1,200 checks for Americans making under $75,000
- Increased unemployment benefits for those out of work
- $350 billion for small businesses
- $500 billion for large corporations and airlines
- Temporary suspension of federal foreclosures, evictions, and student loans
Even fiscal conservatives like Rep. Warren Davidson (R, 8th Congressional District) got behind it.
“The reality is governments chose to effectively shut the economy down, and they have to take responsibility for the cost of that,” he said. “This goes a long way towards that for individuals, families and businesses. We’ve got to keep them all solvent, and of course we need to get as many people as possible back to work as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
While Ohio’s lawmakers were hopeful this relief package will do a lot of good in this pandemic, many I spoke with are aware that a lot more will likely need to be done by the federal government.
But the members who came here for the vote — and those who didn’t, like Rep. Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) — are celebrating what this legislation will do, like expand unemployment.
“The average worker is going to make about as much as they were making in their previous job,” Ryan said in a Skype interview from Ohio on Friday. “To me, that was huge because that’s going to allow them to have some security for the next four months, knowing they’re going to not lose any money.”
Chabot joined President Trump in the Oval Office for the signing of the relief package Friday afternoon.
Now that it is law, both the House and Senate have left the nation’s capital for the foreseeable future.
We’ll be tracking what work is done on a possible “Phase 4” package.