Trump signs COVID-19 relief, spending bill

Alia Paavola -

President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion COVID-19 relief and $1.4 trillion spending bill Dec. 27, six days after receiving the legislative package from Congress.

The COVID-19 relief and spending bill, passed by Congress Dec. 21, includes more funding for providers, vaccine distribution and checks to Americans. 

In remarks Dec. 22, the president called the $600 payment to Americans "ridiculously low" and a "disgrace," and demanded the amount sent to individuals be raised to $2,000. Additionally, the president criticized congressional leaders' decision to pass the relief bill by combining it with a broader spending plan.

As a result, the president refused to sign the bill for several days.

However, on Dec. 27 President Trump released a statement saying he would sign the omnibus and COVID-19 package because it was his "responsibility to protect the people of our country from the economic devastation and hardship" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more," the statement from the president reads. 

The decision to sign the bill came less than 48 hours before the government would have shut down and days before other pandemic relief provisions were set to expire, The New York Times reported. 

For a breakdown of what's in the COVID-19 relief and spending bill for hospitals and health systems, click here

 

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