Home approves $ 1.9 trillion COVID relief package, sends bill to Biden

Washington – The House approved President Biden’s final version $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill Wednesday, offering the new president a significant legislative victory as he works to stabilize an economy still struggling to bounce back from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill, known as the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by a vote of 220 to 211. A Democrat – Representative Jared Golden of Maine – joined with all Republicans in voting against the measured. Golden had previously voted against the House version of the bill that passed last week. The legislation will soon be sent to Mr Biden’s office, where he will sign it on Friday, the White House said. The Senate approved the bill according to party principles after a marathon voting session on Saturday.

Barely 49 days into his presidency, Mr Biden secured what could prove to be the decisive domestic policy achievement of his presidency, pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy and stepping up efforts to its administration to speed up vaccinations, reopen schools and get Americans out of work. back to work. President Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Dr Jill Biden plan to travel to promote the package once it is approved by Congress and signed on Friday, White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki.

Mr Biden celebrated the passage of his plan following the House vote and praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her “the finest and most capable speaker in the history of our nation “as she led the package through Congress and maintained unity among House Democrats.

“This legislation aims to give the backbone of this nation – the essential workers, the workers who built this country, the people who make this country a living – a fighting chance,” the president said.

Democratic members of the House and Senate gathered after the bill was passed for a registration ceremony, in which Democratic leaders signed the bill in the final stage before heading to the White House for the signing of Mr. Biden.

“This is a momentous day in our country’s history because we have passed historic, consistent and transformative legislation,” Pelosi said in remarks, noting that for many Democrats “it is the most consistent legislation. which many of us will never be a party to. “

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats kept their promise to relieve the American people if Georgian voters elect a pair of Democrats to the upper house, securing a 50-50 split, with Harris voting in equality.

“What are we saying to America?” he said. “We say to America, ‘Help is on the way.’

The bill’s swift passage is reminiscent of former President Barack Obama’s successful push for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act soon after he took office in 2009 to combat the Great Recession. But this bill cost less than half of the US bailout, and Mr Biden, who was vice president at the time, appears to have concluded that it’s better to go bigger, even if that means sacrificing a bipartisan support.

The American Rescue Plan provides $ 1,400 in direct payments to people earning up to $ 75,000 a year, $ 350 billion in aid to state and local governments, and $ 14 billion in vaccine distribution. The bill also provides $ 130 billion to elementary, middle and high schools to help them reopen safely.

It includes an additional $ 300 billion in weekly unemployment benefits through September and an expanded tax credit of up to $ 3,600 per child, initially distributed in monthly installments. The child tax credit could lift 4 million children out of poverty, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

More than $ 50 billion will be distributed to small businesses, including $ 7 billion for the paycheck protection program. The bill also provides $ 25 billion in aid for small and medium-sized restaurants, which suffered greatly during the pandemic.

The measure extends eligibility for grants to purchase health insurance to people of all income under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a particularly controversial provision for Republicans who oppose the bill. It also urges states to expand Medicaid under the ACA by charging the federal government for new beneficiaries. Several million people could save hundreds of dollars in health care once the bill is passed.

Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that many Americans would start receiving their stimulus checks by the end of the month and that they would not be carrying Mr Biden’s signature. Former President Donald Trump had his name printed on relief checks in previous rounds of aid.

Democrats announced that the economic relief plan is one that provides a lifeline that families desperately need for families hit hardest by the pandemic. But Republicans in both Houses criticized the measure for its price and $ 1.9 trillion reach, as well as Democrats’ decision to push the plan through Congress without GOP support.

A version of the president’s back-up plan was passed in the House last week, but the Senate amended the package and approved it in a 50-49 vote. The lower house voted on Wednesday on the measure amended by the Senate.

Changes to the Senate-amended measure include lowering an unemployment insurance benefit from $ 400 per week to $ 300 per week, but extending it until September 6 instead of ending the additional help in August. It also made the first $ 10,200 in unemployment benefits tax-free for households earning less than $ 150,000.

The Senate-amended bill also limited eligibility for direct checks. These compromises were negotiated to satisfy moderate Democrats in the Senate, especially Senator Joe Manchin. With Democrats having a 50-seat majority in the Senate, they need the support of the 50 Democrats to pass controversial legislation, which means members like Manchin must be appeased for the bills to pass.

Lawmakers used a process known as budget reconciliation to kickstart the two-chamber back-up plan, which allowed it to pass the Senate with a simple simple majority and without relying on Republican support. But the package had to comply with certain rules governing the reconciliation process, which led to the removal of a minimum wage hike of $ 15 from the original proposal that was passed in the House.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, introduced an amendment to the final bill raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025, but it failed in a vote of 42 to 58.