The federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been historic in its magnitude, speed, and nearly unanimous congressional support. But it has also been misunderstood, and the differences between it and past federal crises, in terms of federal economic intervention, are instructive.

In just two weeks, Congress drafted and enacted one of the most expensive bills in American history, with a $2 trillion price tag, that will affect every part of the economy. This speed reflects the rapid bipartisan consensus of economists and policy experts around a set of policies needed to prevent a short-term economic crisis from becoming a long-term depression.