Federal and state governments, taking action as a public-health imperative, have been principal actors in shutting down large parts of the economy in response to the COVID-19 threat.

So it’s entirely appropriate that government provide swift, direct federal relief aid to Americans suffering from the shutdown of business activity, and setting to one side the conventional concerns for deficit spending.

Now that Congress at last has passed legislation to provide some of that sorely needed assistance, the people who are suffering must hold their collective breath yet again. President Donald Trump has signaled his opposition to the package sitting on his desk.

The president makes a good point: $600 in stimulus for individuals is too meager to make a dent in the financial crisis that has descended on millions of families nationwide.

If there was a way to secure a quick agreement that would come closer to Trump’s favored level of $2,000 per person, the result would be significantly better, especially since more assistance is certain to be required from the next Congress.

But barring such an agreement by rapid “unanimous consent” votes — which seems extremely unlikely — Trump’s signature on the pending legislation is the right move.

The president has other objections to the package, which includes some appropriations to avert a federal shutdown, but those arguments are for another day. Swift help to struggling Americans must not be held hostage to political disputes.

Gov. David Ige has got to be watching all of this with some concern. The $900 billion relief bill Congress passed included a one-year extension of the deadline to spend all of the Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) appropriated to states in the last package, the CARES Act. If the bill is endangered, what’s left over could go back to the federal treasury.

On Monday, the state House Select Committee on COVID-19 took stock of where things stood on several fronts, including the expenditure of the funds.

The meeting highlighted a report from the Hawaii Data Collaborative, which has been tracking CARES Act money, concluding that the state’s CRF allotment includes about $157.5 million remaining in the balance, said Jill Tokuda, adviser to the collaborative.

There is some rationale for taking care to plan how the money should be spent: State and federal officials have learned much about the coronavirus and the impact on local economies over time.

However, funds that the state needs could be at risk now. The administration should put a higher premium on efficiency. Although about 79% of the state’s CRF has been at least “encumbered” in spending commitments of some kind, the collaborative counted only 55% being fully spent.

This is money that needs to get out the door, with minimal delay. The state can’t argue for the urgency of receiving federal relief money while failing to show similar urgency in spending it.

Assuming the COVID-19 relief package comes through as it should, the Hawaii congressional delegation expects it to furnish at least $1.7 billion for Hawaii.

Ige said Wednesday that the funding would free up the budget enough that he will delay planned furloughs for state workers. That’s a rational step, although he rightly observed that the “fluid situation” makes it uncertain when furloughs would begin.

However, the more immediate concern is Congress’ new relief bill. This divisive election year is almost over, but political calculations are clearly in play with the dramatics unfolding on Capitol Hill and in the White House.

It’s time for the politics to give way, at least briefly, to pragmatism. Now is the hour to get help where it’s desperately needed.