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- Biden said that more than 100 million stimulus checks have gone out since the American Rescue Plan became law.
- "More than 100 million payments of $1,400 have gone into peoples' bank accounts," he said.
- "And millions more will be getting their money very soon," he added.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
President Joe Biden said on Thursday that more than 100 million stimulus checks have gone out since the American Rescue Plan was signed into law earlier this month.
"That's real money in peoples' pockets bringing relief instantly, almost," Biden said at his first news conference since taking office. "And millions more will be getting their money very soon."
He added that the country is also showing other signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that's infected more than 30 million Americans, killed over 545,000, and decimated the economy.
Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, "a majority of economic forecasters have significantly increased their projections on the economic growth that's going to take place this year," Biden said. "They're now projecting it will exceed six percent - six percent growth in GDP. And just this morning, we learned that the number of people filing for weekly unemployment insurance fell by nearly 100,000 persons."
The US Department of Labor released its weekly report on new jobless claims Thursday morning. According to the report, 684,000 people filed for initial unemployment insurance the week ending March 20. This was the first time they'd been below 700,000 since last March, when the pandemic first started rapidly spreading within the US.
"There are still too many Americans out of work, too many families hurting, and we still have a lot of work to do," Biden said Thursday. "But I can say to you, the American people, help is here and hope is on the way."
Thursday was the first time Biden gave a solo news conference since taking office on January 20. After making his initial remarks, he fielded questions about hot-button issues including immigration, foreign policy, and gun control.
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