US House passes $3T coronavirus relief bill

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US House of Representatives passed a sweeping $3 trillion coronavirus relief package Friday that includes funds for state and local governments reeling from COVID-19-related closures and additional direct payments to individuals.

The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act cleared the Democrat-controlled House by a 208-199 vote.

Fourteen Democrats opposed the bill and one Republican voted in favor.

The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate where it has already been called dead on arrival.

"DOA. Dead on arrival. Of course, Nancy Pelosi knows that," US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday.

In addition to providing state, local and tribal with $1 trillion, the bill would give Americans an additional $1,200 in direct payments, create a $200 billion fund to ensure essential workers receive hazard pay and create a separate $175 billion fund to aid individuals needing help paying rent and mortgages.

It would also extend unemployment benefits as the US grapples with jobless rates not seen since the Great Depression that began in 1929.