[CBC뉴스] 도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령이 27일 2조 3천억 달러 규모의 대유행 구호와 지출 계획에 서명하여 수백만 미국인들의 실업급여를 회복하고 부분적인 연방정부 폐쇄를 막았다고 관리들이 말했다.
11월 대선에서 패배한 후 1월 20일 퇴임하는 트럼프는 양측 국회의원들로부터 강한 압력을 받은 후 지난 주 의회가 승인한 이 법안을 저지하겠다는 위협에서 물러섰다.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday (December 27) signed into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, officials said, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a partial federal government shutdown.
Trump, who leaves office on Jan. 20 after losing November's election, backed down from his threat to block the bill, which was approved by Congress last week after he came under intense pressure from lawmakers on both sides.
The Republican president, who golfed on Sunday and remained out of public view even as the potential government shutdown loomed, had demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for struggling Americans to $2,000 from $600.
It was not immediately clear why Trump changed his mind as his resistance to the massive legislative package promised a chaotic final stretch of his presidency.
White House officials have been tight-lipped about Trump's thinking but a source familiar with the situation said some advisers had urged him to relent because they did not see the point of refusing.
Democrats are on board with the $2,000 payments but many Republicans have opposed it in the past. Many economists agree the financial aid in the bill should be higher to get the economy moving again but say that immediate support for Americans hit by coronavirus lockdowns is still urgently needed.
Unemployment benefits being paid out to about 14 million people through pandemic programs lapsed on Saturday but will be restarted now that Trump has signed the bill.
The package includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. If Trump had not signed the legislation, then a partial government shutdown would have begun on Tuesday that would have put millions of government workers' incomes at risk.
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