外刊阅读20210310｜美国参议院通过1.9万亿美元纾困法案，具体包括哪些内容？

“If governments don’t move quickly /with the right energy policies, this could put at risk the world’s historic opportunity to make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions .”

“如果各国政府不迅速采取正确的能源政策，这可能会让世界错失这个让2019年成为全球排放最后一个峰值的历史性机遇。”

（意思就是让碳排放量从2019年开始持续下降）

put at risk the world’s historic opportunity即put the world’s historic opportunity at risk

《本期内容》

Under the Senate plan, individuals making up to $75,000 and couples making up to $150,000 per year are eligible to receive a $1,400 check. Individuals earning between $75,000 and $80,000 and couples earning between $150,000 and $160,000 will receive some of that money, but not the full amount. Senate Democrats lowered the eligibility for the stimulus checks to get all Democrats on board after resistance from some moderates in their party.

Current federal unemployment benefits, which allot an additional $300 per week on top of state benefits, are set to expire on March 14. The Senate’s bill extends the program through Sept. 6, at $300 per week. For households earning under $150,000, the first $10,200 of the unemployment benefits are nontaxable to prevent surprise billing at the end of the year.

The bill raises the child tax credit for most families in the coming year by $1,000, to $3,000 per child. It’s even more for families with young children: many can receive a credit of $3,600 for each child under age six. All of these credits are fully refundable, and some researchers say these measures could potentially help cut child poverty in half.

The bill delivers a $350 billion cash infusion to state and local governments, and $130 billion to elementary, middle and high schools to help them re-open safely. Local budgets have faced steep declines in revenue as businesses remain shuttered during the pandemic. The money for schools is designed to help them improve their ventilation systems, hire more janitors, and reduce class sizes to conform with social distancing protocols.

The bill includes an additional $50 billion in assistance for small businesses, including more than $7 billion for the troubled Payment Protection Program. In a break from previous relief packages, this bill provides $28.6 billion in grant relief specifically for restaurants, which have been particularly decimated by the pandemic.

The bill allocates $20 billion in funding for vaccine distribution, including $1 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to launch a vaccine awareness and engagement campaign, and $7.5 billion for the CDC to set up vaccination sites across the country and monitor distribution. The bill also includes $50 billion to increase COVID testing.