[ti:US Congress Passes Spending Bill, Includes Coronavirus Aid Measure]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]The United States Congress passed a massive year-end bill Monday night
[00:06.52]that includes a $900-billion coronavirus aid plan.
[00:13.08]Both the House of Representatives and the Senate
[00:16.76]passed the measure with large majorities,
[00:19.92]although lawmakers had only a few hours to examine the more than 5,000-page bill.
[00:29.92]It approved 1.4 trillion dollars in spending to keep the U.S. government operating.
[00:39.44]President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.
[00:45.56]The legislation comes after weeks of negotiations.
[00:50.72]Congressional leaders from both parties debated
[00:54.52]how much government assistance should be provided in coronavirus aid
[01:00.60]and whether the aid should center on help to individuals or businesses.
[01:08.96]The United States is experiencing a sharp and growing rise in COVID-19 infections.
[01:17.40]The country recorded more than 18 million confirmed cases as of Monday night.
[01:25.76]More than 319,000 Americans have died of the disease,
[01:31.80]the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reports.
[01:36.92]One of the main parts of the new bill provides direct payments of $600 to most people.
[01:45.92]Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said millions of Americans
[01:51.84]could begin seeing the payments as soon as next week.
[01:57.52]Payments of $1,200 were included
[02:02.00]in a much larger coronavirus relief bill in March.
[02:07.80]The new bill also includes $284 billion for the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program.
[02:16.88]The program is designed to help businesses keep workers employed
[02:22.80]during the economic pressure caused by the health crisis.
[02:27.76]And the bill contains almost $300 a week in unemployment assistance
[02:34.92]for 11 weeks, $82 billion for local schools and universities,
[02:42.00]$25 billion in home cost assistance,
[02:47.44]$15 billion for theaters and $10 billion for child care.
[02:54.76]The bill also provides $4 billion
[02:58.48]to help other countries with vaccination efforts for COVID-19.
[03:05.24]"The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately,"
[03:12.08]said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.
[03:17.52]Democratic Party lawmakers had pushed for a much larger aid program,
[03:23.12]with the House passing a $3-trillion package in May
[03:28.32]and a $2-trillion version in October.
[03:32.36]But Republicans opposed that level of spending.
[03:37.48]Democrats say the aid measure is just a first step of what will come
[03:43.72]after President-elect Joe Biden take office on January 20.
[03:49.72]Biden wrote about the bill's passage on Twitter.
[03:54.36]He praised the progress but said "our work is far from over."
[04:00.40]"Starting in the new year, Congress will need to immediately get to work
[04:06.92]on support for our COVID-19 plan," he wrote.
[04:12.00]Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said
[04:16.20]anyone who considers the new aid as enough, in his words,
[04:21.84]"hasn't heard the desperation in the voices of their constituents,
[04:27.48]has not looked into the eyes of the small business owner on the brink of ruin."
[04:34.36]Any proposals for additional spending will be highly dependent
[04:39.88]on two January 5 runoff elections for Senate seats.
[04:45.96]Both are in the state of Georgia.
[04:49.32]The results will decide which party controls the Senate.
[04:55.28]The total $1.4-trillion spending package
[05:00.04]will keep the government operational through next September.
[05:04.80]It includes an extension of tax help
[05:08.68]for numerous businesses for at least the next year,
[05:13.28]$45 billion for transportation needs
[05:17.68]and $13 billion for a major expansion in food assistance.
[05:25.12]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM