- President
Joe Biden gave his first prime-time address Thursday night since moving to the White House. - The speech marks the Democrats' $1.9 trillion
stimulus package being signed into law. - $1,400 stimulus payments could be sent out as early as this weekend, The White House said.
President Joe Biden told Americans that relief is on the way in his first prime-time address from the White House on Thursday, marking the year anniversary of the pandemic and the passage this week of Democrats' $1.9 trillion stimulus package. He also announced that all US adults will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.
The hope is to return to a pre-pandemic normal, or something close to it, by July 4.
"We all lost something," Biden said of the pandemic, noting the deaths of more than 500,000 Americans, as well as the loss of new memories that were not made. "It's the details of life that matter the most. And we miss those details," he said. "Weddings, birthdays, graduations."
To get there again, the Biden administration will double the number of federally run mass vaccination centers, including mobile operations and pop-up clinics, supported by more than 6,000 active-duty soldiers, senior White House officials told reporters.
Americans will also be able to locate vaccines in their area by using a new, centralized website. The president will also direct all states to make vaccines available to all adults "no later than May 1," he said, although Biden cautioned that shouldn't be taken to mean they will all get one on or near that date.
"We'll have enough vaccine supply for all adults in America by the end of May," Biden said Thursday night, pledging a new goal of administering at least two million doses a day. "That's months ahead of schedule."
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Heralding the stimulus
Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law earlier on Thursday. He and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to go to Atlanta on Friday to tout the package, the passage of which was a major campaign theme for newly elected Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
"It's never a good bet to bet against America," Biden said. "America is coming back."
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said $1,400 stimulus payments will be sent out "as early as this weekend."
The package also includes an extension of unemployment benefits, including an additional $300 a week in federal aid. It also includes an expanded child tax credit of up to $3,600 per child, available in monthly payments.
Subsidies for health insurance are also boosted under the legislation, which also provides six months of free coverage for those who have recently lost their employer-provided plan.
Although the stimulus package received no GOP support in Congress, polls suggest it enjoys broad support among the US public, including 6 in 10 Republican voters.
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