Senate Sends Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package to Trump’s Desk

The cavalry is coming, folks.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis currently unfolding here in the United States, the Trump administration, along with Congress, looked poised to enact an incredibly robust and unprecedented package of aid to the American people.

Washington is mobilizing to rescue the country from potentially disastrous economic consequences from the global coronavirus outbreak, with the Senate on Wednesday passing a multi-billion dollar emergency package and quickly getting to work on a larger stimulus agreement.

With Senate leaders vowing to work at “warp speed” to blunt the financial fallout from the pandemic, the Treasury Department unveiled to lawmakers a plan for $250 billion in direct payments to Americans starting April 6.

And that’s not all:

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans were inching closer on Wednesday to unveiling their proposal for a third, even larger stimulus package to address the epidemic, which is likely to include some of Treasury’s ideas.

The Senate’s approval Wednesday of the House-passed coronavirus bill, known as “phase two,” comes as Republican senators are expected to begin negotiations with Democrats on a trillion-dollar “phase three” stimulus package as early as Wednesday night.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed his optimism as well.

“It is a well-intentioned bipartisan product assembled by House Democrats and President Trump’s team that tries to stand up and expand some new relief measures for American workers,” McConnell (R-Ky.) said of the House bill, which House lawmakers passed early Saturday and later approved technical corrections on Monday.

Despite “real shortcomings” in the legislation, McConnell said, “in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that will help even a subset of workers.”

The government is doing their part to fight this invisible enemy, but we must also do ours:  Adhere to the CDC recommendations on social distancing, take precautions however you can, and be sure to use social media responsibly by referencing the CDC and WHO websites before sharing information that could be untrue and harmful.