Reuters reports that US President Joe Biden ordered the faster issuance of pandemic stimulus checks to needy families and increased food aid for children who normally rely on school meals, an effort to ease Americans’ burdens while Congress negotiates over his proposed $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package.
In the opening days of his administration, Biden is emphasizing that the government must tackle the coronavirus crisis with urgency after his predecessor Donald Trump largely played it down.
More than 400,000 Americans have died from the virus and millions of jobs have been lost.
“It’s not just to meet the moral obligation,” Biden said in remarks at a White House event to sign two executive orders. “This is an economic imperative.”
