As Democratic members continue to reject the proposed Republican-led targeted bill, what are now the updates and current status of relief aids and other benefits?

Money
(Photo : Unsplash)

Millions of Americans were hoping that the Republican-led targeted bill or a new round of relief aid would have strong bipartisan support on Thursday. However, it was not what was expected to happen because Democratic Senators did not support the new relief aid. 

Much of the fund under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act has already been used. However, there is still around $300 billion unspent budget that Pres. Trump suggested to be released and be used as stimulus checks.

The said amount is more than enough for over 160 million Americans and eligible individuals who applied during the first round. Meanwhile, here are the updates and current status of the relief aids:

Unemployment Benefits

The first round of federal unemployment claim expired last July. After it, Pres. Trump asked Congress to act on the relief aid to ensure that people in the country will receive the help they need. However, Congress failed to act, but Pres. Trump immediately responded by issuing and signing an executive order that extended the unemployment claim. 

The executive order mandated the Federal Emergency Management Agency to divert its unspent fund for unemployment claims. The FEMA will send $300 for eligible individuals, while the stat can add another $100. 

Additionally, Pres. Trump ordered to extend the unemployment benefits to another three weeks after the Democratic Senators rejected the targeted bill on Thursday. This means that eligible unemployed individuals will receive an amount of $1,800.

Eviction Ban 

One of the memoranda that Pres. Trump issue last month was the eviction protection. This is to make sure that millions of Americans will not get homeless amid the global pandemic. Trump's administration believed that the number of COVID-19 infections in the country would increase if more people were on the streets, homeless.

Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also released the National Eviction Moratoriumthat makes it illegal for landlords to evict the tenants who no longer pay their rent because of a job loss or any other problems related to COVID-19. 

However, this does no0000t apply to everyone because there are terms that tenants should pass first. They need to fill up a form called "Halt in Evictions to Prevent Further Spread of Covid-19," and provide a copy to their landlord or owner of the residential property.

Individuals who are earning less than $99,000 and couples who jointly filed an amount of $198,000 in their latest tax return are qualifiedThey also need to declare that they did everything but end up nothing and only depend on their daily needs through a charity. 

Second Stimulus Checks

One of the benefits that millions of Americans are hoping until today is the second round of $1,200 stimulus check. Both parties already agreed to send the stimulus payments. However, they cannot proceed with the bill because they disagreed on the total amount of the stimulus package. 

However, Pres. Trump asked Congress to use the $300 billion unspent budget under the CARES Act and is now looking for legal ways to release the fund even without Congress's approval through executive actions.