Donald Trump signs coronavirus relief orders after talks with Congress collapse
- Americans unemployed due to pandemic to get extra US$400 a week, down from US$600 in earlier package
- US president’s executive orders also pause collection of payroll taxes, and address issues like evictions and student loan payments
US President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday providing additional financial support to Americans hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, after his negotiators failed to reach a deal with Congress.
Trump said the orders would provide an extra US$400 per week to the tens of millions thrown out of work during a health crisis that has killed more than 160,000 Americans, less than the US$600 per week level passed earlier in the year.
Some of the measures were likely to face legal challenges, as the US Constitution gives Congress authority over federal spending.
“This is the money they need, this is the money they want, this gives them an incentive to go back to work,” Trump said of the lower enhanced unemployment payments.
Republicans have argued that the higher payments were a disincentive for unemployed Americans to try to return to work, though economists, including Federal Reserve officials, disputed that assertion.