Trump Signs $2 Trillion Coronavirus Bill into Law as Companies and Households Brace for more Economic Pain

By Paul Kane, Mike DeBonis, Erica Werner, Washington Post–

President Trump on Friday signed a massive $2 trillion emergency spending bill into law, which policy makers hope will blunt some of the coronavirus epidemic’s economic fallout.

His signature came just hours after the House of Representatives passed the measure by a voice vote, and less than 48 hours after it received unanimous approval from the Senate.

“I want to thank Democrats and Republicans for coming together and putting America first,” Trump said.

Now, the White House, Treasury Department, Small Business Administration and other agencies must rush to try and flood the economy with money under the new law. The law authorizes Treasury to send $1,200 payments to millions of Americans and creates programs to disburse close to $1 trillion in business loans and guarantees to millions of large and small companies throughout the entire economy.

There are now roughly 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and it has caused more than 1,300 deaths domestically, figures that have been rising rapidly. To avoid contagion, much of America has shut down. Schools have closed. Most public gatherings have been cancelled. Many Americans have stopped leaving their homes, devastating millions of businesses that depend on consumer spending for their cashflow.

This led 3.3 million employees to file for unemployment benefits last week, by far the most over a seven-day span in recent American history. A number of economists believe the U.S. economy has taken a nose dive from a period of relative economic strength to one of the worst recessions ever recorded.

To respond, the White House and Congress assembled a massive spending bill that directs money to households, businesses, cities, states, and hospitals, while seeking to buttress state unemployment programs that are overwhelmed with new filers.

The White House has promised it will swiftly implement the new law, but its economic approach to the coronavirus crisis continues to change by the day. For example, approach continues changing rapidly. For example, Trump on Friday invoked the Defense Production Act in an effort to compel General Motors to manufacture ventilators after holding back on using such a tool for more than a week.

Similarly, the cruise ship industry has indicated it might not qualify for any of the new emergency loans even though Trump has said multiple times that they would be beneficiaries.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin promised in a Fox Business interview on Friday that the Internal Revenue Service would be moving rapidly to send out payments to Americans who qualify — those with incomes under $99,000 — and that the SBA would stand up a new lending program within a week. Small businesses will have access to close to $400 billion in loans from the new legislation, which amounts to the largest economic stimulus package in the nation’s history.

“We’re going to have a new program up by next Friday where banks can lend. I mean that — that would be a historic achievement that is just incredibly aggressive,” Mnuchin said. “This is a brand-new program the Treasury working with the SBA. We’re doing everything we can because Americans need that money now. They can’t wait for government to take three or four or six months like we normally do.”

On direct payments to Americans, Mnuchin said: “I’ve committed that the IRS will get these direct deposit in three weeks. Again, American workers can’t wait.”

But there are a number of logistical hurdles that the Trump administration will be scrambling to resolve. For example, officials can send electronic payments to households that have bank accounts on file with the IRS, such as those who have in the past received tax refunds. But the IRS is expected to send millions of other people checks in the mail, a process that could take much longer.

Similarly, the White House and Congress have to take steps to set up oversight teams to scrutinize the programs. This includes the requirement that the White House nominate a new “Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery,” a position that must be confirmed by the Senate. And congressional leaders need to appoint five members to a Congressional Oversight Commission, which is also tasked with monitoring how the money is disbursed.

Melissa Kearney, an economics professor at the University of Maryland and director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, said that the benefits in the bill — on top of savings people may already have — could be sufficient to tide laid-off workers through for up to three months.

“I’m quite pleased to see that this was passed so quickly and does include direct payments to households and expansion of unemployment insurance and loans to small businesses,” Kearney said.

The legislation passed the House in dramatic fashion, approved on an overwhelming voice vote by lawmakers who’d been forced to return to Washington by a GOP colleague who had insisted on a quorum being present. Some lawmakers came from New York and other places where residents are supposed to be sheltering at home.

The procedural move by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) drew bipartisan fury, including from Trump who derided him over Twitter as a “grandstander” who should be tossed out of the Republican Party.

Massie, who opposes the legislation because it adds to the deficit, insisted over Twitter that he’d “sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution” and was simply doing his duty. The Constitution specifies that a quorum — or majority of the House — should be present for legislative business, but that is rarely enforced.

Anticipating Massie’s move, leaders of both parties had urged lawmakers to return to the Capitol if they could, and many reluctantly complied, boarding red-eyes or early flights, or in some cases embarking on long drives. Some came from New York even though people there have been urged to quarantine for 14 days if they leave.

“Today, as we have all acknowledged, our nation faces an economic and health emergency of historic proportions due to the coronavirus pandemic, the worst pandemic in over 100 years,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

“The American people deserve a government-wide, visionary, evidence-based response to address these threats to their lives and their livelihoods, and they need it now.”

As House debate drew to a close, congressional leaders urged lawmakers to file into the galleries overlooking the House floor — where the public usually sits — in order to attempt to maintain social distancing among the well over 200 lawmakers present.

Then the vote was called, and Massie sought recognition. “Mr. Speaker, I came here to make sure our republic doesn’t die by unanimous consent in an empty chamber, and I request a recorded vote.”

Massie’s request was denied as members asked to stand up to back him up remained seated. He asserted that there was not a quorum, but presiding from the chair Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) deemed a quorum present.

Brown then gaveled the vote shut, and cheers erupted on both sides.

Members hurried to the exits, and with the Senate already out of session at least through April 21 — barring the need for urgent legislative action — the House, too, will now recess for an undetermined period.

© J. Scott Applewhite/AP Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., speaks to reporters at the Capitol after he blocked a unanimous consent vote on a long-awaited $19 billion disaster aid bill in the chamber on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Many were furious at Massie.

“It’s an act of vanity and selfishness that goes beyond comprehension,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), saying Massie was putting people’s health at risk and forcing the House to model poor public health procedures. “He should be ashamed of himself and the country should scorn him.”

Three members have now tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and a number of others were quarantined after showing symptoms or coming into contact with potentially infected individuals.

During the debate and vote, the fear in the room could be seen.

Several members wore surgical gloves. Others went to great lengths to place themselves far away from others. Some held their hand over their face as they passed other lawmakers or staff.

Two podiums were set up for speakers during debate, with a hand sanitizer bottle under the podium and a canister of disinfectant wipes on the chair next to the podium. When each speaker finished, he or she took their turn wiping down the podium and the microphone from which they were speaking, before giving way to the next speaker.

The House Sergeant at Arms set out strict procedures for Friday’s proceedings in the House, including urging members and staff to maintain a six-foot distance from one another and limiting access to the House Chamber to those scheduled to speak at any given time. Members were urged to use the stairs instead of elevators, which at normal times are stuffed with lawmakers rubbing shoulders with one another. The Speaker’s Lobby, the area off the floor where reporters gather in crowds to interview lawmakers, was shut.

The developments Friday were just the latest twist for a bill that underwent a week of contentious negotiations in the Senate before ultimately passing 96-0 on Wednesday night.

The bill contains multiple provisions aimed at propping up an economy shuddering from the impacts of the coronavirus, which has sent jobless claims skyrocketing and the stock market plummeting as many Americans stay in their homes to avoid contracting or spreading covid-19.

More than 150 million households would receive checks under the legislation, which will send payments of $1,200 to many individual Americans plus $500 for children. People with incomes above $99,000 are not eligible, and the total benefit is phased out for people earning between $75,000 and $99,000.

The bill includes almost $400 billion to help small businesses retain their payrolls and $250 billion to boost unemployment insurance, offering $600 per week for four months for laid-off workers, on top of whatever benefits their states may provide.

The legislation also contains hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency federal aid for large corporations suffering due to the coronavirus outbreak, a provision that sparked days of intense partisan conflict and a frenzied push from lobbyists and corporations eager to secure a chunk of the funding.

The final legislation will provide $25 billion in grants and $25 billion in loans to passenger airlines; $17 billion in loans to industries deemed critical to “national security” — a provision aimed at helping Boeing — and $425 billion in loans and loan guarantees for other large firms, a fund for which cities and states can also apply.

Trump touted the legislation in an interview Thursday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News.

“The workers are going to get $3,000 for a family of four. They’re going to get all sorts of things that they, frankly, in many cases, they wouldn’t have even gotten if they had the job, if they didn’t have to go through this hell. And it’s — it’s a wonderful thing,” Trump said.

The president went on to say “A lot of this money is going to save Boeing. It’s going to save the airline industry. And, you know, that means not only does it mean what it says, it also means tremendous jobs. We can’t let Boeing go. You know, Boeing had a problem, big one to start off with, and on top of it, this happened. And we’ll save Boeing and we’ll save the airlines and we’ll save other companies.”

The conditions on the large pool of funding became a major sticking point through congressional negotiations. Democrats won some concessions but not others. In the final bill, businesses receiving the loan cannot cut their employment levels by more than 10 percent until Sept. 30. They have some restrictions on executive compensation above $425,000 annually and cannot issue stock buybacks, a limitation supported by Trump.

Included are measures ensuring swift disclosure of funding recipients, as well as an oversight board to probe the Treasury’s decisions. The president, vice president, members of Congress and members of the cabinet are also prohibited from benefiting from the aid — a measure that also applies to their spouses and children. The direct grant funding for the airlines also has strict limitations and is required to go directly to workers or their benefits.

During debate ahead of the vote, with tensions running high, there was an uproar at one point as Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), tried to speak over her allotted time, wearing pink latex gloves and gesturing in animation as she asked for more time to thank medical professionals at the frontline of the crisis.

“I rise before you donning these latex gloves not for personal attention, not for personal attention, but to encourage you to take this disease seriously,” Stevens shouted as she was gaveled out of order. “I rise for every American who is scared right now.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), from the epicenter of the health crisis in Queens, rose to denounce the bill and the choice lawmakers are being forced to make faced with legislation that she said creates a corporate bailout while also provided needed funds to hospitals and front-line workers.

“Our community’s reality is this country’s future if we don’t do anything. Hospital workers don’t have the necessary equipment,” she said, calling it “shameful, and the option that we have is either to let them suffer with nothing or allow this greed.”

John Wagner contributed to this report.