Biden lays out $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package with $1,400 stimulus checks

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to lay out his $1.9 trillion relief package in a primetime address on Thursday — which will focus on a new round of stimulus checks to struggling Americans and an ambitious vaccine distribution plan to control the deadly pandemic.

Biden will ask the new Democratic-controlled Congress to approve the “American Rescue Plan.” A chunk of the funds —$416 billion— will help launch a national vaccination program with a goal of vaccinating 50 million Americans and reopening schools in the first 100 days of his administration.

Two senior transition officials told NBC News that the Trump administration has barely invested in building a federal infrastructure to help states distribute the vaccine.

An extra $1 trillion would be allotted to help struggling Americans with the third round of stimulus checks — giving them $1,400 direct payments, including an extra $400 per week for unemployed and affected workers.

We need these resources to vaccinate the vast majority of Americans and to put safety measures in place that will help us put Covid behind us so that we can reopen our schools, businesses, and once again be able to get there with our friends and family,” one senior transition official said on a briefing call with reporters on Thursday before Biden’s address