WASHINGTON, March 11 (CNA) - Hours after signing his US$1.9 trillion stimulus Bill into law on Thursday (Mar 11), 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 Jul 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 around 50 days into his administration.
He plans to discuss the new law and commemorate the anniversary of the lockdown with a primetime speech at 8pm (9am Singapore time on 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 is ordering US states, territories and tribes to make all adults eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by May 1, administration officials said. About 10 per cent of Americans have so far been fully vaccinated.
He will also announce the deployment of an additional 4,000 US troops to help in the vaccination effort and set a goal of the Jul 4 Independence Day holiday for families and friends to be able to gather again in small groups.
Biden and top members of his administration will embark on a victory lap of sorts in the coming weeks to laud and explain the legislation, called the American Rescue Plan, which got final approval from the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.
"This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation - working people and middle-class folks, the people who built the country - a fighting chance," Biden said before signing.
The president will also use his remarks on Thursday night to encourage Americans to continue to wear masks, keep socially distant and practice good hygiene to stop the spread of the virus as the pace of vaccinations increases. A number of states have been loosening restrictions.
