Economy

Pres. Trump Signs ‘Phase 3.5’ Coronavirus Relief Package Into Law

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2020

Staff Writer

President Donald Trump signed the $484 billion “Phase 3.5” emergency interim coronavirus relief package into law inside of the Oval Office on Friday, after Congress passed legislation earlier in the week to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses and add billions of dollars in aid to hospitals across the country during the COVID-19 crisis.

President Trump described the bill as “great for small businesses” and “great for the workers,” adding that it will “extend relief to thousands of African-American and Hispanic American business owners.”

“Phase 3.5” will provide an additional $310 billion in funds to the PPP, which was established in order to help businesses with less than 500 employees receive loans that can cover at least eight weeks of payroll, benefits, and other expenses. Out of that $310 billion, $30 billion is reserved for community-based lenders, small banks and credit unions, while another $30 billion will go to mid-sized banks and credit unions.

The law will also provide an additional $50 billion for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) emergency disaster lending program and $10 billion in SBA disaster grants.

The PPP was created as part of the “Phase 3” stimulus package, known as the CARES Act, which was signed into law in March. PPP converts small business loans to grants, which will be fully forgiven if at least 75-percent of the loan is used toward keeping employees on the payroll. The PPP ran out of funding earlier this month, which prompted Congress to pass the “Phase 3.5” relief package to replenish it, as well as fund other programs.

As of Friday, at least 869,172 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the U.S. and nearly 50,000 people have died nationwide.

For more information, visit Fox News.

Related Topics:CARES Act coronavirus Donald J. Trump

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Nation

White House Confirms It Is Looking Into Shutting Down Oil Pipeline Amid Fuel Crisis

Published

5 days ago

November 27, 2021

Staff Writer

The Biden administration confirmed that it is considering shutting down an oil pipeline in Michigan despite the ongoing fuel crisis in the country.

“Revoking the permits for the [Line 5] pipeline that delivers oil from western Canada across Wisconsin, the Great Lakes and Michigan and into Ontario, would please environmentalists who have urged the White House to block fossil fuel infrastructure, but it would aggravate a rift with Canada and could exacerbate a spike in energy prices that Republicans are already using as a political weapon,” Politico Pro reported. “Killing a pipeline while U.S. gasoline prices are the highest in years could be political poison for Biden, who has seen his approval rating crash in recent months.”

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked about the report during Monday’s press briefing, asking, “why is the administration now considering shutting down the Line 5 pipeline from Canada to Michigan?”

“So, Peter, that is inaccurate,” Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed. “That is not right. So, any reporting indicating that some decision has been made, again, is not accurate. … So, again, I would — it is inaccurate what you just stated, but —”

“What’s inaccurate?” Doocy asked.

“The reporting about us wanting to shut down the Line 5,” Jean-Pierre said.

“I didn’t say ‘wanting.’ I said, is it being studied right now? Is the administration studying the impact of shutting down the Line 5?”

“Yeah. Yes, we are. We are,” Jean-Pierre admitted.

DOOCY: "Is the administration studying the impact of shutting down the Line 5?"

JEAN-PIERRE: "Yes we are." pic.twitter.com/V5XKhgcmAJ

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 8, 2021

The news comes as gas prices have reached their highest since 2014, when Biden was vice president, and are currently about 50% higher than they were when Biden entered office.