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After working through the night on a mountain of amendments – almost all Republicans and rejected – the troubled-eyed senators approved the sprawling package in a 50-49 vote. This sets up final Congressional approval by the House next week so lawmakers can send it to Biden for his signature.
“We are telling the American people that help is on its way,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. Citing the country’s desire to return to normalcy, he added, “Our job right now is to help our country move from this stormy present to this hopeful future.”
The huge package – its total spending is nearly a tenth the size of the entire U.S. economy – is Biden’s biggest initial priority. This is his formula for fighting the deadly virus and a lame economy, two crises that have plagued the country for a year.
Saturday’s vote was also a pivotal political moment for Biden and the Democrats, who only need party unanimity in a 50-50 Senate they are leading due to Vice President Kamala’s decisive vote. Harris. They also have a slim 10-vote advantage in the House.
A small but central group of moderate Democrats took advantage of changes in the bill that infuriated progressives, making it difficult for President Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., To guide the measure through the House. But defeating their first signing bill was not an option for Democrats, who must try to lead Congress for two years with virtually no margin for error.
The bill provides for direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for most Americans, extended emergency unemployment benefits, and vast stacks of spending for COVID-19 vaccines and testing, states and cities, struggling schools and industries, as well as tax breaks to help low-income people. , families with children and consumers purchasing health insurance.
SEE ALSO: What is, is not in the Senate’s version of the COVID-19 relief bill
The package has faced strong opposition from Republicans, who are calling the package an unnecessary spending spree for liberal Democratic allies who ignore recent indications that the pandemic and the economy could turn the corner.
“The Senate has never spent $ 2 trillion more randomly,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky said. Democrats, he said, “Their top priority was not pandemic relief. It was their wish list in Washington.”
The Senate embarked on a dreaded “vote-a-thon” – a continuous series of votes on the amendments – shortly before midnight Friday, and by the end it had eliminated about three dozen. The Senate had been in session since 9:00 a.m. EST Friday.
Overnight, the bedroom was like an experience of the best techniques for staying awake. Several lawmakers appeared to rest their eyes or doze off at their desks, often burying their faces in their hands. At one point, Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, at 48, one of the youngest senators, trotted around the chamber and did an extended stretch.
The move follows five previous ones totaling about $ 4 trillion that Congress has enacted since last spring and comes amid signs of a potential turnaround.
SEE ALSO: Could This Be The Final Package With Stimulus Checks?
Vaccine supplies are increasing, deaths and the number of cases have eased but remain woefully high, and hiring has been surprisingly strong last month, although the economy remains 10 million jobs smaller than its levels. before the pandemic.
The Senate package was repeatedly delayed as Democrats made eleventh-hour changes aimed at balancing the demands of their competing moderate and progressive factions.
Work on the bill was halted on Friday after an agreement between Democrats on extending jobless emergency benefits appeared to collapse. Nearly 12 hours later, the Main Democrats and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, perhaps the most conservative Democrat in the chamber, said they had struck a deal and the Senate approved it by a vote of 50-49.
Under their compromise, weekly emergency unemployment checks of $ 300 – in addition to regular state benefits – would be renewed, with a final payment made on October 6. There would also be tax breaks on some of these payments, helping people hit by the pandemic abruptly get rid of jobs and risky tax penalties on benefits.
The House Relief Bill, largely similar to the Senate’s, provided $ 400 in weekly benefits through August. The current payments of $ 300 per week expire on March 14, and Democrats want the bill to be on Biden’s desk by then to avoid default.
Manchin and Republicans have argued that higher unemployment benefits discourage people from returning to work, a reason most Democrats and many economists reject.
This agreement on jobless benefits was not the only initiative that showed the grip of the moderates.
The Senate voted on Friday to eject a House-approved increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025, a major defeat for progressives. Eight Democrats opposed the increase, suggesting Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., And other progressives who have pledged to continue the effort in the months to come will face an uphill battle.
Party leaders have also agreed to restrict eligibility for the $ 1,400 stimulus checks that will go to most Americans. This amount would be gradually reduced until, under the Senate bill, it reaches zero for people earning $ 80,000 and couples earning $ 160,000. These amounts were higher in the House version.
Many of the amendments the GOP rejected were either attempts to force Democrats to vote politically awkward or for Republicans to demonstrate their zeal for issues that appeal to their constituents.
These included unsuccessful efforts to prevent Bill’s education funds from going to schools closed due to the pandemic that do not reopen, or that allow male-born transgender students to participate in women’s sports. An amendment would have blocked aid to so-called sanctuary cities, where local authorities are reluctant to help federal officials round up immigrants who are in the United States illegally.
Friday’s deadlock on unemployment benefits was not the bill’s long delay. A day earlier, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Forced the chamber clerks to read aloud the entire 628-page relief bill, a tedious task that took almost 11 hours .
Associated Press editors Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2021 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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