President Donald Trump signed four executive measures Aug. 8 to extend federal pandemic relief as negotiations over an economic recovery package stall in Congress.
Below are five things to know about the executive actions, which include one executive order and three memorandums.
1. Payroll tax deferral. The president instructed the U.S. Treasury to halt collection of payroll taxes from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31 for workers who earn less than $4,000 every two weeks. The payroll taxes, which help fund Medicare and Social Security, will be due at a later date. Read the memorandum here.
2. Unemployment aid. The memorandum would provide $400 weekly to unemployed workers. The federal government is paying $300 and states would have to pay the other $100. Read the memorandum here.
3. Evictions. The executive order calls for HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, to "consider whether any measures temporarily halting residential evictions of any tenants for failure to pay rent are reasonably necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19." It also calls for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, MD, to identify available federal funds to provide temporary financial assistance to renters and homeowners who are struggling to meet their monthly rental and mortgage obligations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the executive order here.
4. Student loan payments. The president's memorandum allows people to delay student loan payments until the end of the year and waives interest on loans held by the federal government through Dec. 31. Read the memorandum here.
5. Legal challenge. The president is likely to face legal challenges over the executive measures because any changes to federal spending or taxes are supposed to come from Congress, according to The Washington Post.