President Donald Trump reversed course on Sunday, signing into law a massive $2.3 trillion dollar coronavirus relief and government funding bill that he had objected to at the last minute.
That signature does two important things for the US economy: It averts a government shutdown that was set to begin on Tuesday, and extends billions of dollars in coronavirus aid to struggling Americans.
The estimated 12 million people in two key pandemic unemployment programs, who were facing their last payment this weekend, will now receive benefits for another 11 weeks. Plus, all those collecting jobless payments will receive a $300 weekly federal boost through mid-March.
The relief package also extends eviction protection to January 31 and provides $25 billion in rental assistance for those who lost their sources of income during the pandemic. An estimated 9.2 million renters who have lost employment income during the pandemic are behind on rent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The caveats: Because Trump did not sign the bill on Saturday, those enrolled in the two unemployment programs will likely not receive a payment for the final week of the year. Their payments could also be delayed several weeks while state agencies reprogram their computers.
US futures and most global markets moved higher on Monday as investors welcomed the additional stimulus.
The backstory: Economists had been arguing for months that US lawmakers needed to deliver another relief package to help protect the fragile economic recovery from the pandemic. The Federal Reserve said so, too.
But getting a deal that was acceptable to both Democrats and Republicans proved to be exceedingly difficult. Trump’s 11th hour intervention — against an agreement his administration negotiated — didn’t help matters.
The deal removes two sources of uncertainty for investors. It provides some relief to struggling Americans before President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month, and keeps the US government running through September 30. That means no pesky government shutdowns until at least the next fiscal year.