Trump signs coronavirus relief package into law, bringing good news for higher education
President Donald Trump hands a pen to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. after signing the coronavirus stimulus relief package in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday, March 27, 2020, in Washington. From left, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, McConnell, Trump, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarty, R-Calif. and Vice President Mike Pence. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
On March 27, President Donald Trump signed a historic $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package into law as the U.S. economy struggled to deal with the implications of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We're going to keep our small businesses strong and our big businesses strong,” Trump said during the signing ceremony. “And that’s keeping our country strong and our jobs strong.”
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act is intended to assist unemployed workers, struggling families, businesses and health care providers overburdened by the pandemic. The bipartisan legislation, which would be the biggest emergency aid package in U.S. history, will provide direct payments of up to $3,000 to millions of U.S families and allows a $500 billion fund for hard-hit corporations.
The Republican-led Senate passed the bill with a 96-0 vote on March 26. Later, the House of Representatives passed the package by voice vote amid conflict in the House chamber. It then went to President Trump for signing.
“Today, we’ve all acknowledged our nation faces an economic and health emergency of historic proportions,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the bill passed.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell emphasized the necessity of emergency relief efforts and promised bipartisanship in his speech on the Senate floor, according to NPR.
“No economic policy can fully end the hardship so long as the public health requires that we put so much of our commerce on ice,” said McConnell. “This isn’t even a stimulus package. It is emergency relief. Emergency relief. That’s what this is.”
The stimulus bill allocates $30.75 billion in funding for education, with $14 billion set aside for colleges and universities. Of the $14 billion, 90% will be distributed by the U.S. Department of Education based on the number of Pell Grant students enrolled in the university.
In a morning radio interview with Mix 104.1 WCLE on March 26, Dr. Paul Conn said the package will provide relief for students and families. Later, Conn spoke to Lee students through a livestream after virtual chapel, addressing the bill.
“In that $2.2 trillion bill that was passed last night, there’s a lot of good news for a lot of you,” Conn said. “There is good news about paying student workers, student loans, direct help for families, good news for so many of your parents who are finding themselves unemployed or with personal financial issues that came out of coronavirus.”
Conn said higher education communities across the country are working together through the crisis, and the bill will be helpful for the community to rebound.
“Congress got it right this time. We have been working hard to make sure we get protections in this bill,” said Conn. “We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we got a lot.”
