On The Money: Biden signs COVID-19 relief bill, will address nation tonight |
Happy Thursday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’ll be refreshing our bank account apps all weekend. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
See something I missed? Let me know at slane@thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@thehill.com, njagoda@thehill.com and nelis@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @NJagoda and @NivElis.
THE BIG DEAL—Biden signs $1.9 trillion relief bill into law: Have you ever written your name and made $1.9 trillion appear? That’s, more or less, how President BidenJoe BidenManchin cements key-vote status in 50-50 Senate The Memo: How the COVID year upended politics Post-pandemic plans for lawmakers: Chuck E. Cheese, visiting friends, hugging grandkids MORE spent his afternoon.
Biden on Thursday signed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package into law, marking a significant legislative accomplishment for the new president as he looks to shepherd the country through the pandemic. Alongside Vice President Harris in the Oval Office, Biden said the measure was historic legislation aimed at “rebuilding the backbone of this country.” The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant and Brett Samuels take us to the White House.
What’s inside the bill: The sweeping bill, which Biden proposed in January before taking office, includes funding for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, vaccine distribution efforts, school reopenings, enhanced unemployment benefits through September and state and local governments, along with an expansion of the child tax credit and an expansion of ObamaCare, among other provisions. We’ve got a more detailed rundown of the bill here, and highlighted a few sections that flew under the radar here.
Selling the relief plan: The Biden administration will begin an all-out public relations blitz in the weeks to come to tout the benefits of the bill.
- Biden is scheduled to deliver a prime-time address later Thursday about the administration’s pandemic response, a year to the day that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world as we knew it forever. He is expected to talk about the sacrifices made by the American public, the lives lost and his administration’s efforts to distribute coronavirus vaccines.
- Then, the president will travel to Pennsylvania next Tuesday in what is expected to be the first of multiple trips to sell the legislation to the public and ensure it retains its popularity.
- Biden and Harris will also travel to Atlanta on Friday, the White House announced shortly before Biden signed the bill, branding the effort the “Help is Here” tour.
First stimulus checks could hit bank accounts this weekend: That said, nothing sells the bill like money in the bank.
White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiOn The Money: House passes COVID-19 relief bill in partisan vote | Biden to sign Friday | Senate confirms Fudge to lead HUD Biden under pressure to get ,400 payments out quickly White House searches for solution to border rush MORE said Thursday that people could start receiving $1,400 direct payments in their bank accounts as soon as this weekend.
The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda has more here.
LEADING THE DAY
Biden announces nominees for key Treasury positions: President Biden on Thursday announced his nominees for several key Treasury Department positions, as his administration prepares to implement the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
- Nellie Liang, a former Federal Reserve official, is his pick to be undersecretary for domestic finance at Treasury. Former President Trump had nominated Liang to serve on the Fed’s board of governors in 2018, but Liang pulled her nomination the following year after drawing opposition from Senate Republicans who wanted to loosen rules on banks.
- Lily Batchelder, a professor at New York University, was nominated to…
Read More: On The Money: Biden signs COVID-19 relief bill, will address nation tonight |