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Ten hours, 43 minutes, nine seconds.

That was how long it took last Thursday for the staff of the US Congress to read the 628-page document entitled HR1319 aloud.

The procedure was unusual, but the Republicans insisted - arguably an attempt to delay the law at least a little bit that they couldn't stop.

Now, almost a week later, Congress approved HR1319 with the Democratic vote.

It could have been a historic session.

Because the politicians passed a gigantic Corona aid package that should change America permanently.

Expenditures of $ 1.9 trillion are planned for the next twelve months.

The money will be used to fund the distribution of vaccines and the reopening of schools.

The package also includes lump-sum payments to citizens and better unemployment insurance - and something that is tantamount to a revolution: monthly checks of $ 300 for families.

For the first time in history, the US is introducing child benefit.

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HR1319 brings more social law to America than any law before.

Is there what Otto von Bismarck introduced in Germany more than 100 years ago now: a safety net so tightly meshed that it actually catches those in need?

The new President Joe Biden seems to be steering the United States in this direction.

It builds on the aid packages of his predecessor Donald Trump, who stipulated sick pay in March 2020, also a novelty in the USA at the time.

Corona is apparently causing the richest nation in the world to rethink.

Check over $ 1400

"The law is one of the most transformative that I've seen in Congress in more than 30 years," said Democrat Nancy Pelosi, chairwoman of the House of Representatives, after the vote.

The Republicans, who are the minority in the chamber and who voted unanimously against the aid package, reacted angrily.

"It is too expensive and contains many regulations that have nothing to do with Corona," said MEP Liz Cheney. 

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The largest item in the aid package - $ 410 billion - is the helicopter money: Those who earn less than $ 75,000 a year receive a check for $ 1,400.

Trump also distributed money in the Corona crisis, once 600 dollars and once 1200 dollars per person.

The aim of this policy is to stimulate consumption and thus return the economy to its former strength.

After all, pre-Corona Americans' propensity to buy was the driving force behind the boom the country had experienced.

The US government plans to pay the unemployed $ 300 a week through September, in addition to checks and support from local authorities.

How high they are depends on where you live.

Massachusetts, the most generous state, pays $ 555 a week.

If you add the $ 300 from Biden's aid package, you get $ 3,420 a month - an extreme value for America.

In Mississippi, where previously there was virtually no coverage, it is now $ 2,140. 

In addition, Biden's aid package provides $ 130 billion for America's schools.

The money will be used to buy ventilation systems, disinfectants and masks.

$ 105 billion is reserved for corona testing, contact tracing, and vaccine distribution.

$ 59 billion is said to go to small businesses suffering from the lockdowns.

$ 250 for children 6-17

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But nothing on the 628 pages of HR1319 is as spectacular as child benefit.

In the United States, families previously received a small annual tax credit, but now they get monthly checks: $ 300 for every child under five, and $ 250 for children between the ages of six and 17.

The full amount is eligible for parents who collectively earn less than $ 150,000 annually.

It is estimated that nine out of ten families will receive child benefit.

So far, fewer than three out of ten people receive the tax credits.

So far, the measure, which is said to cost $ 100 billion, is limited to one year - but Biden has already announced that he will continue it after the pandemic.

With HR1319, more welfare state comes into the country, where it was always said that only the efforts of the individual counted.

The Washington think tank Tax Policy Center assumes that the aid package will bring the poorest fifth of the population an income increase of 20 percent.

The richest fifth, on the other hand, has to be content with an increase of 0.7 percent, according to economists.

The package is too expensive for the Republicans

But not everyone is happy with Biden's measures.

Many Republicans, like MP Liz Cheney, believe the package is too expensive and is dangerously increasing America's national debt.

In fact, the country's debt is a staggering $ 28 trillion.

The debt level in relation to economic output has now exceeded 100 percent.

For comparison: In Germany the debt ratio is 75 percent.

But Biden's aid package is popular with citizens, as surveys show.

Above all, the child benefit, unemployment benefits and the new one-off payments are well received.

The checks will look different than last year: At that time Trump had them printed with his name - Biden, on the other hand, wants to do without them.

"The current president doesn't believe," said his spokeswoman, "that this should be a priority."