Staff Reporter: Finally, US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion (In Bangladeshi takas, the amount is more than one crore 61 lakh 6 thousand crore 70 lakh rupees Corona Fund Bill has been passed to address the much-discussed Corona virus epidemic. The bill was passed in the lower house of the House of Representatives at Corona Relief on Saturday (February 28) morning, local time. The bill is expected to benefit at least 8 million Americans, including at least 1 million Bangladeshi Americans. Biden hopes the United States will strengthen its position on the mountainous bill.
Biden unveiled his proposal, the American Rescue Plan, last month, with hundreds of billions of dollars going to vaccination programs, expanded unemployment insurance, $1,400 stimulus checks, state and local governments, school re-openings and more.
Biden’s sprawling proposal set off an immediate debate among Republicans and Democrats over how best to heal the economy — or if another stimulus package is needed at all. Some issues, like raising the minimum wage to $15, have been especially fraught.
Many Democrats are backing Biden’s message that it is better to go too big on a relief bill than too small. Republicans, meanwhile, say the bill is much too large and is full of provisions that have little or nothing to do with responding directly to the pandemic.
The bill now heads to the Senate. Democratic leaders have said they hope to get a final version to Biden’s desk by mid-March, when expanded unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans.
BP/SM
