Often masked, in a regularly disinfected hemicycle, members of the House of Representatives, with a majority of Democrats, adopted a new aid plan of $ 483 billion to support the economy and hospitals, by 388 votes for and five against , with one abstention. President Donald Trump should quickly promulgate this new plan, which the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, had already approved unanimously on Tuesday.
320 billion for SMEs
Faced with the explosion of unemployment and the paralysis of the American economy, Congress and the White House have negotiated these measures which include $ 320 billion in loans intended for small and medium-sized businesses.
Objective: allow them to keep their employees on the job. The federal state guarantees these loans, by committing to cancel the debt if the beneficiary company keeps its employees or rehires those who have been made redundant.
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The measures also include 60 billion in loans intended for other disaster-stricken sectors, notably in agriculture, 75 billion in aid to hospitals and 25 billion to strengthen screening for coronavirus, a factor considered to be key to being able to revive activity.
The new funds for SMEs will add to the 349 billion already spent to support them. This envelope had been approved in late March as part of a historic stimulus package of $ 2.2 trillion.
A new package of measures already in talks
Extraordinary instructions had been distributed to elected officials forced to return to Washington during the coronavirus crisis to approve this emergency plan. The vote took place for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, much longer than usual because parliamentarians could only enter small groups in the hemicycle.
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The House also on Thursday approved the creation of a commission to investigate the administration by Donald Trump of the coronavirus crisis. The Republican billionaire, vying for re-election in November, has made job protection and the economy his top priority. And the Covid-19 crisis prompted the White House to agree with the Democrats in Congress to mobilize exponential funds.
On March 5, parliamentarians released $ 8.3 billion to finance the fight against the coronavirus. Then on March 18, they approved a $ 100 billion social assistance plan, before the titanic third installment of $ 2.200 billion. A new package of measures, which could include a vast infrastructure plan, is already under discussion.