US Senate Approved Biden's Support Package

The $ 1.9 trillion support package to be given as part of the fight against coronavirus, proposed by US President Joe Biden, was approved by the US Senate.

The US Senate approved Biden's support package. The $ 1.9 trillion package managed to get through the Senate. The package, which is the largest incentive package in the history of the USA, passed the Senate with 50-49 votes after the 11-hour session. The package includes $ 1,400 cash assistance to many U.S. citizens, $ 300 per week unemployment payments for 9.5 million layoffs during the epidemic, and $ 350 billion in aid for state and local governments.   The main headlines of the support package are as follows: Incentive Payments According to the package, those who meet the conditions will be paid $ 1,400. Singles with an annual income of up to $ 75,000 will receive full payment, while couples with an annual income of up to $ 150,000 will be able to receive $ 1,400 per person. Children and adults belonging to the household will also be able to benefit from stimulus payments.   Testing and Vaccination Program The stimulus package foresees a $ 160 billion payment for the vaccination and testing program to stop the spread of the virus. With this payment, it is aimed to create a national vaccination program that will provide free vaccines.   State Supports One of the striking supports in the package was support for state and local governments. Democrats in the Senate included $ 350 billion in state support for states and local governments. For months, Democrats had insisted on allocating more resources for states and local governments that faced lower tax revenues and higher costs during the epidemic. State and city governments warned that they could cut sweeping health, safety and education programs due to deteriorating financial structures.   Unemployment insurance The package, which included a $ 400 weekly payment of unemployment benefit and an extension until the end of August, passed from the Senate with $ 300 a week and was extended until September.   Health Insurances According to the latest regulations, the package, which includes the full coverage of the ongoing health insurance expenses of the dismissed people, includes a weekly support of $ 1,400 and tax deductions to cover the losses incurred during sickness for businesses with less than 500 employees.   Tax Discounts and Child Support The package also envisaged an expansion of tax cuts for low- and middle-income households for 2021. In addition, the child tax deduction for children aged 17 and under was increased from 2 thousand dollars to 3 thousand dollars. Discounts for children under the age of 6 will be 3,600 dollars. Tax cuts were planned to be effective from July.   Schools and Higher Education Institutions The package had $ 170 billion in funds to enable schools to remain open. In addition, support of 130 billion dollars was envisaged for primary and secondary schools. The package also included a $ 40 billion direct aid scheme to higher education institutions.   Rent Support It was decided to extend the rent support, one of the most discussed topics of the package. Accordingly, it is aimed to extend the prohibition of execution and landing for those who cannot pay their rent until September. On the other hand, a budget of $ 45 billion was planned for low-income households to be able to pay their rents and housing loans. A support of $ 5 billion was allocated to the states for the problem of homelessness.   Airports and Airline Companies 14 billion dollars were allocated for airline companies meeting the conditions specified in the package, 1 billion dollars for airline suppliers and 8 billion dollars for airports.   Small Businesses In the package in question, a support of $ 25 billion is envisaged for restaurants that are adversely affected by the restrictions, and a $ 1.25 billion budget has been allocated for venue operators. In addition, $ 15 billion for targeted Economic Disaster loans and $ 7.25 billion for the Salary Protection Program were projected.     This article has contributions of Bloomberg HT.