Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 20 December 2020, after months of negotiations, representatives of the US Republican and Democratic parties have reached an agreement on an additional US$900 billion economic aid package to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

The House and Senate are expected to vote on the package. According to representatives of the White House, Donald Trump supports the bill and will sign it.

It is noted that the new package will become the second largest economic stimulus in US history after the adoption in March 2020 a bill on aid in the amount of US$2.3 trillion, and includes the following support measures.

1. Social payments. There are direct payments of US$600 to most Americans and an increase in unemployment benefits of US$300 a week. Also, support programs for independent and contractors and unemployed Americans will be extended until April 2021.

2. Promotion of small businesses. The bill allocated in the amount of US$284 billion for the Small Business Workers Pay Protection Program. Of this, US$12 billion is intended for enterprises belonging to national minorities, US$15 billion will go to support cultural institutions. The stimulus plan will also include US$25 billion in rent compensation for the affected business.

3. Support for education. The secondary and tertiary education regulations provide US$82 billion to schools and colleges to support full-time education and prevent transmission of the virus.

4. Assistance in the distribution of the vaccine. About US$68 billion will be spent on the distribution of vaccines, their transit and the purchase of medical supplies for public health needs.

5. Help with nutrition. US$13 billion goes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including additional funding for food banks and nutrition programs for the elderly. According to a study by the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame, over the past five months, the poverty rate in the United States has increased sharply, reaching 11.7% - an increase of 2.4 percentage points from June this year. Nearly 8 million Americans now live in poverty.

In general, the allocation of the financial assistance package is taking place against the background of the growing spread of the coronavirus, which affects more than 214,000 Americans every day. According to experts, these trends will continue until vaccines become widely available in the United States in mid-2021.