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The House narrowly approved the Democrats’ $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill early Saturday morning, in a close vote of 219-212 that mostly fell along party lines.
The bill contains $ 1,400 in direct payments for most Americans, $ 170 billion to colleges and K-12 schools to cover reopening costs, and $ 70 billion for coronavirus testing and vaccination programs. In addition, the relief program allocates $ 350 billion in funding to state, local and tribal governments.
President Biden pushed for passage of the bill, but Republicans opposed some of the provisions of the legislation, arguing that they were clearly foreign.
“This is not a rescue bill. It takes care of the political allies of the Democrats when it fails to meet the needs of American families, ”said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, Calif.). The Washington Post Friday. “We already know what the best stimulus plan is: it’s about completely reopening our economy. To do this, we need our economy to get back to work, go back to school and get healthy. “
About two hours before the vote, McCarthy said Congress would not vote on the bill until 2 a m Saturday “because Democrats are so embarrassed by all the non-COVID trash in this bill that they are blocking it in the middle of the night.”
Every Republican in the House voted against the bill, as did two Democrats: Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon. The two also opposed the Democrats’ $ 3 trillion bill last May, which failed to pass.
“At this difficult time, the country needs its elected leaders to work together to meet the most urgent needs of their communities,” Golden said, explaining his decision to vote against the bill, according to the Associated Press. “This bill addresses urgent needs, then buries them under a mountain of unnecessary or untimely spending.”
House Democrats have included a provision to increase the federally-imposed minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, despite the lower likelihood of the provision being passed by the Senate.
With the Senate tied 50-50, Democrats are trying to push through the coronavirus relief bill through budget reconciliation procedures, which allow a simple majority vote instead of a bullet-proof vote. the systematic obstruction of 60. However, the parliamentarian of the Senate ruled Thursday evening that an increase in the minimum wage could not be adopted as part of the budget reconciliation.
“It is inevitable for all of us, the minimum wage of $ 15 will be met,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Friday evening, although it is inconceivable for some, it is inevitable for us – and we will work diligently. to shorten the distance between the inevitable and the inconceivable.
Lawmakers have been working urgently to ensure approved legislation reaches Biden’s office by March 14, when pandemic unemployment assistance programs expire.
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