President Donald Trump has signed the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, as Politico reports.
The bill was passed by the US Senate last week and by the House of Representatives on Friday, before also being signed by President Trump later that same day, Politico adds in a separate article. It notes that the bill's passage in the House was not without drama, as Representative Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) indicated that he would force a recorded vote, rather than a voice vote on the bill, which would have required lawmakers to come to the chamber to vote. As Politico notes, the vote eventually proceeded as a voice vote.
The stimulus bill includes $500 billion in emergency loans for businesses, $100 billion in funding for hospitals, and a direct payment to certain adults. ScienceInsider reported last week that the bill also includes $945 million for the National Institutes of Health to support COVID-19 vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostic research, and more, as well as funds for other federal research agencies. In particular, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to receive $4.3 billion, as GenomeWeb adds.
"People will die today as a result of this virus," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) said in remarks before the vote, according to Politico. "And we have come together as Democrats and Republicans from every region of this country to respond in a way that is sufficient to this challenge."