March 11 (UPI) — President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Thursday, the one-year anniversary of the declaration of the pandemic and first shutdowns to contain it.
“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country, and giving people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, a people who built the country a fighting chance,” Biden said in brief remarks before signing the bill a day ahead of schedule.
Biden will give a prime-time address at 8 p.m. EST Thursday to detail what comes next in the national response to COVID-19.The White House said he will speak about sacrifices made over the past year, the more than a half-million Americans who have died and describe what still must be done to defeat the virus.
“There is light at the end of this dark tunnel over the past year,” Biden told reporters Wednesday. “We cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable.”
