COVID-19 Economic Stimulus

The COVID-19 Economic Stimulus was the emergency fiscal and monetary response to the 2020 pandemic recession, anchored in the United States by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a 2.2 trillion dollar package President Trump signed on 27 March 2020, the largest economic stimulus package in United States history at the time. It combined roughly 300 billion dollars in direct cash payments to individuals, about 260 billion dollars in expanded unemployment benefits, a Paycheck Protection Program of forgivable small business loans that began with 350 billion dollars, 500 billion dollars in lending facilities for corporations, and aid to state, local and hospital budgets. The Federal Reserve paired the fiscal package with emergency lending facilities and a return to near zero interest rates, and comparable stimulus programs followed in most other advanced economies over 2020 and 2021.