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US Capitol Hill building where the Senate sits. Shutterstock/Golden Brown

US Senate and White House reach agreement on $2 trillion Covid-19 rescue package

The deal will see a sweep of new measures to provide Americans with healthcare and business supports.

THE SENATE AND and White House have reached a deal on a $2 trillion (€1.85 trillion) stimulus package for the US economy and the millions of Americans impacted by the coronavirus crisis, the top Republican lawmaker said this morning.

“At last, we have a deal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, citing the massive “wartime level of investment into our nation”. 

The Senate and House of Representatives still need to pass the legislation before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The deal will see a suite of new measures to support Americans with healthcare and business supports as the number of confirmed Covid-19 continues to rise at a rapid pace. 

The World Health Organisation has suggested the US will become the epicentre of the global pandemic soon as cases reached over 45,000 this week with more than 500 deaths. 

US lawmakers worked deep into Tuesday night trying to seal a deal that buttresses the teetering economy by giving roughly $2 trillion to hospitals, businesses and ordinary Americans buckling under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic.

The historically large measure aims to put cash directly into the hands of Americans hard hit by the crisis, inject billions of dollars into hospitals desperate for medical equipment, provide grants to small businesses and loans for larger corporations, and expand unemployment benefits.

After days of vicious partisan infighting over what to include, in what ultimately may be the largest emergency rescue package lawmakers have ever passed, optimism remained that the package could still pass.

In the last number of hours, negotiators have come to an agreement after a dramatic rally by Wall Street on anticipation of the stimulus package.

- © AFP 2020

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    Mute Pól Ó'hAodha
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    Jan 14th 2021, 7:37 PM

    Foster could’ve helped the situation by not allowing people on to the island from Britain. The woman’s insufferable

    874
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    Mute Vonvonic
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    Jan 14th 2021, 9:06 PM

    @Pól Ó’hAodha: The head on her.

    201
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    Mute Ann Basquille Smith
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    Jan 14th 2021, 11:32 PM

    @Vonvonic: very sad that this inane comment would get 70 likes.

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    Mute Simon Connolly
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    Jan 14th 2021, 11:35 PM

    @Vonvonic: If she looked at a litre of milk, it would turn sour!

    38
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    Mute Vonvonic
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    Jan 15th 2021, 12:51 AM

    @Ann Basquille Smith: I’m.not sure I’d you’re acquainted with the expression but it had more to.do.with her attitude than her looks.

    18
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    Mute Vonvonic
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    Jan 15th 2021, 12:51 AM

    @Vonvonic: *sure if you’re…

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    Mute Barry Evans
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    Jan 14th 2021, 7:39 PM

    Were Arlene et al of a mind to share the passenger information of those who landed in Belfast Airport and off the ferry in Larne? Not to mention the amount of her fellow country men and women travelling into the “free state” to work when our numbers were low and they were riddled? She’s a pox bottle!

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    Mute Fachtna Roe
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:30 PM

    @Barry Evans: You lost me at “pox”.

    61
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    Mute Barry Evans
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    Jan 15th 2021, 6:26 AM

    @Fachtna Roe: didn’t realise my statement was that hard to follow…….

    15
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    Mute Colm Walsh
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    Jan 14th 2021, 7:54 PM

    I would assume there’s a GDPR issue considering the north’s is in the UK and not an EU state any longer. Sharing peoples location and movements would breach Eu privacy laws. If only they could join some type of contenental collective union so we could work together and share information without problems like this.

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:18 PM

    @Colm Walsh: Perhaps they could even reunite with the rest of the country. Arlene has done more for Irish reunification in the past few years than anyone.

    185
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    Mute Brendan McCarron
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:51 PM

    @Colm Walsh: Can you kindly keep your sensible logic away from the Journal’s sensationalist posts. We’re trying to foment anger and surface level opinions here, not to educate people on simple reasoning and looking for contextual information. Sincerely, Brendan.

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    Mute Jakie McLean
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    Jan 14th 2021, 11:18 PM

    @Seán Óg: oh Sean Og shes gonna love your comment. She could blow a head gasket

    8
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    Mute Alan McArdle
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    Jan 15th 2021, 6:52 AM

    @Colm Walsh: precisely.

    4
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    Mute Declan Joseph Deasy
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    Jan 15th 2021, 12:43 PM

    @Colm Walsh: Personal data used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes. No way!!

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    Mute reginald
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    Jan 14th 2021, 7:42 PM

    FFG would want to get there house in order,we are handed a perfect opportunity to hand an olive branch out to Northern Ireland with both brexit and Covid has thrown the dust up.our Taoiseach waffling on about maybe in 5 years time to ask the question about a border pole,until then he don’t want to know,our tanaiste blaming Sinn Fein on everything instead of showing a strong hand with them with Northern Ireland.baffling

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Jan 14th 2021, 7:57 PM

    @reginald: FG and FF don’t want a border poll. In 5 years time they will say “in 5 years time” ad infinitum.

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    Mute David Van-Standen
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:07 PM

    @reginald: I don’t think a lot of our present government, but to fair to them, they tried to get Northern Ireland to take an all ireland approach to covid 19 at the very start and to try work with the Republic to do the same as New Zealand did and secure the borders entire island of Ireland.

    But his was dismissed by Arlene and her cronies, stating that they as part of the UK, would take a UK stance on the matter.

    Brexit was helped into reality by Arlene and the DUP playing politics, instead of being concerned with the outcome of Brexit for all the people of Northern Ireland.

    And now when they have left the EU and realised their glorious sovereignty as an independent United kingdom, now they want to complain about a lack of cooperation on the Island of Ireland???

    Now that’s ironic!

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    Mute Paul Tao
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:37 PM

    @Seán Óg: Seems to be a misconception by many that a border poll would go the way of a United Ireland when in fact polls don’t indicate that at present. There’s a risk of “jumping the gun” and being colonial about the whole thing. If the aim is just to annex NI against their will, that wouldn’t make Ireland a whole lot better than the English..
    The “long game” being played, of aligning NI economically more with Europe instead of Britain, changing supply chains, soft power with things like Erasmus and EU passports, letting NI people realize that the DUP/Westminster aren’t doing much good – these are wise and correct ways to go about UI. The best way is to have a *clear* majority there who conclude that they will be better off in an inclusive Ireland whichever nationality they identify as.

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    Mute Angela McCarthy
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    Jan 15th 2021, 7:12 AM

    @Seán Óg: Correct – “The time is not right” in 2121, they will still be saying the time is not right. Unionists will call for talks around a border poll before FF and FG.

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    Mute Vonvonic
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:01 PM

    A bit of a spat now would be very timely indeed. Button it Arlene ffs.

    68
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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:22 PM

    @Vonvonic: Just a smokescreen to hide from the fact that the supermarket shelves in the north are empty due to DUP incompetence and a belief that Boris had their best interests at heart. Should have taken Mrs May’s deal instead of stabbing her in the back.

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    Mute Vonvonic
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:38 PM

    @Seán Óg: Indeed. The sweetest deal of all was the one offered to Cameron not to have the referendum in the first place. Dominos.

    77
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    Mute Thomas Armstrong
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    Jan 15th 2021, 1:26 AM

    This works 2 ways and you allowed flights into Belfast & Derry and the ferry into Larne it was ye who allowed most people into the island so were is your paper work on all those you allowed in when the South had stopped UK travel. Majority of these passengers and you knew full well came to the South and you didn’t blink an eye about this.

    36
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    Mute Humphrey De Fluff
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:07 PM

    I seen the photo then misread the headline as “Leaders in North Korea..”

    32
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    Mute Paddy Kennedy
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:16 PM

    @Humphrey De Fluff: well kim has better hair than arlene for a start…

    69
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    Mute Paul Murphy
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    Jan 15th 2021, 9:08 AM

    @Paddy Kennedy: lol very good

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    Mute Mary Nugent
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    Jan 14th 2021, 9:28 PM

    GDPR rules.

    28
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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Jan 15th 2021, 5:40 AM

    I don’t think it would be appropriate to share that type of information with a foreign power, and non EU member.

    21
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    Mute Declan Joseph Deasy
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    Jan 15th 2021, 12:41 PM

    @John Mulligan: Absolutely correct. Personal data which would be used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes.

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    Mute Keith Flood
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    Jan 15th 2021, 7:37 AM

    This gave me a good laugh . They have a worse problem than us and thousands cross the border daily and weekly to work in the south.

    14
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    Mute Rorymcrory
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    Jan 14th 2021, 8:56 PM

    Fair play to Arlene

    11
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    Mute Setanta Stylfox
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    Jan 14th 2021, 9:24 PM

    @Rorymcrory: Why?

    18
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    Mute Rorymcrory
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    Jan 14th 2021, 10:53 PM

    @Setanta Stylfox: She’s done yards more for Irish unity than any other party

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    Mute bestiekevin
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    Jan 15th 2021, 1:01 PM

    Apparently she’s a lovely bloke.

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    Mute Simon Carroll
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    Jan 15th 2021, 1:30 AM

    Oh F off Robbie Coltrane

    11
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    Mute Declan Joseph Deasy
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    Jan 15th 2021, 12:05 PM

    Why would we share personal data with the UK which would then be used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes. Another example of the NoI’s disconnect with the real world. Then again GCHQ probably have the data anyway through hacking the Republic’s systems without our knowing it.

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    Mute Steve Chalk
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    Jan 14th 2021, 7:50 PM

    They couldn’t agree on what cereal to have for breakfast up there.

    1
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