WASHINGTON: Hours after signing his $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law on Thursday, President Joe Biden prepared to tell Americans in a televised address he is taking aggressive action to speed COVID-19 vaccinations and move the country closer to normality by July 4.
Biden signed the measure, designed to bring relief to Americans and boost the economy, with Vice President Kamala Harris at his side in the Oval Office. The package is a major political victory for the Democratic president some 50 days into his administration.
He plans to discuss the new law and commemorate the anniversary of the lockdown with a primetime speech at 8 p.m. (0100 GMT Friday) that will pair optimism about the future with a call for Americans to remain vigilant against the highly contagious respiratory virus.
About 530,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, the most of any country, and coronavirus-related lockdowns and restrictions have cost millions of jobs.
Biden will announce that he…