US ‘proposing $850bn emergency stimulus’

WASHINGTON DC: The White House is proposing a roughly 850 billion dollar (£691 billion) emergency stimulus to address the economic cost of the new coronavirus in the US, sources said.

The request will be outlined to senate Republicans on Tuesday and will aim to provide relief for small businesses and the airline industry, and include a massive tax cut for wage-earners, according to insiders.

The White House hopes the measure will pass this week, as Donald Trump’s administration scrambles to contain the economic fallout of the severe disruptions to American life from the outbreak.

American treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin was expected to outline the rescue plan on Tuesday to senate Republicans. White House officials offered senators a preliminary briefing late on Monday at the Capitol, saying they want the plan approved by US congress as soon as possible - hopefully in a matter of days.

“ASAP,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said late on Monday. “There’s an urgency.”

The rush to inject cash and resources into the economy is an effort unlike any seen since the 2008 economic crisis, with political and economic interventions and eye-popping sums used to try to protect Americans from the health and financial fallout.

At the same time, Democrats have proposed their own 750 billion dollar (£609 billion) aid package. Senators returned to an emptied-out US capitol, clear of tourists or colleagues from the house, to confront an even more dire situation than the one they left for a long weekend, before Trump declared a national emergency.

Pending is the House-passed aid package approved early on Saturday - with sick pay, free testing and emergency food — that was endorsed by US President Donald Trump and ready to become law.

But action was stalled for much of the day as the senate waited on the House for technical corrections as Republicans and a leading small business group raised objections, a setback only resolved late in the evening with a House voice vote of approval.

All sides — the house, senate and White House — agree the pending bill is not the last, and not nearly enough to handle what is to come. The Democrats’ proposal seeks to boost hospital capacity, unemployment insurance and other direct aid for American households, businesses and the health care industry.

Meanwhile, Republican senators conferred privately over their priorities. Republicans often reluctant to spend federal dollars did not flinch at the head-spinning number, as a roster of America’s big and small industries — airlines, hotels, retailers — lined up for aid. Senator Mitt Romney called for sending 1,000 dollars (£813) to every adult American.