Nancy Pelosi's Not Celebrating 80th Birthday amid Coronavirus 'Until I Can Hug My Grandbabies'

Nancy Pelosi turned 80 on Thursday, but she said she is keeping her focus on providing coronavirus relief for now

Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Nancy Pelosi’s birthday celebration will have to wait.

As Pelosi turned 80 on Thursday, the House speaker said she kept her focus on providing relief to Americans who have been financially hurt by the new coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m not celebrating, though, until I can hug my grandbabies,” she told reporters at a briefing on Thursday, according to USA Today. “Waiting for that day.”

Pelosi and husband Paul have five children and nine grandchildren.

The virus spreads through respiratory droplets like sneezing and coughing and from contact with a surface that an infected person has touched, so health officials have urged people to keep their physical distance from one another.

The Senate unanimously approved the 880-page bill on Wednesday, which the House of Representatives passed on Friday. President Donald Trump quickly signed the approximately $2 trillion stimulus package into law later Friday.

The bill will provide a check of $1,200 for most adults, while married couples could receive up to $2,400, according to an analysis by the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of Senate Committee on Finance.

“For the vast majority of Americans, no action on their part will be required in order to receive a rebate check as IRS will use a taxpayer’s 2019 tax return if filed, or in the alternative their 2018 return,” the analysis states.

According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, people will start receiving their checks “within three weeks” through direct deposit.

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Even before the House voted on the bill, Pelosi was already advocating for additional legislation to address funding for testing and treatments, increase the amount of people who qualify for family and medical leave and provide stronger protections for first responders.

“The bill that was passed in the Senate last night and that we will take up tomorrow is about mitigation,” Pelosi told reporters, according to Politico. “There’s so many things we didn’t get in any of these bills yet in the way that we need to.”

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