House adopts Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid bill – here’s the rest

The House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package, setting up what should be days of debate and political negotiation in and around the Senate.

The House, led by President Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Voted largely in party direction early Saturday to advance the massive relief plan, which includes extensions to programs designed to help millions of Americans unemployment and provides financial support to state and local governments.

With the bill tied to a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers next week will start proposing amendments to the House plan and will likely pass a different version of the bill they received.

If this happens, then the House will have to adopt the Senate version or the two houses will have to meet to draft a final and acceptable draft in a committee of the conference. Democrats are rushing to send the bill to Biden’s office by March 14, when unemployment benefits are about to expire.

Advocating for the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., stressed on Thursday that millions of Americans remain in dire economic straits.

“This is a health and economic crisis that only occurs once in a century,” he wrote on Twitter. “But Republican leaders would ‘maneuver’ to get every Republican member to oppose urgent and bold COVID aid.”

“Make no mistake,” he added, “we will deliver the US bailout with overwhelming public support.”

Democrats have small majorities in both the House and Senate and have chosen to try to push through Biden’s stimulus package through a process known as budget reconciliation. Reconciliation allows a party to pass a bill with a simple majority vote, but limits what can be included in the bill to items that have a significant impact on the federal deficit.

Although the House passed its bill with a federal minimum wage stipulation of $ 15 an hour, the Senate parliamentarian ruled on Thursday that the wage increase could not be included in any bill being reconciled. .

The parliamentarian’s decision underscores the fragility of the bill’s composition in the Senate, where even a single non-Democrat could condemn Biden’s historic first bill.

Party leadership is likely to focus on mid-road Democrats, like West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who are more likely to balk at provisions they deem costly or unnecessary.

Manchin cast doubt on the fate of additional stimulus checks as early as Jan.8, ahead of Biden’s inauguration.

The Tory Democrat said he would “absolutely” oppose another round of direct payments, but then clarified in a tweet, writing: “If the next round of stimulus checks come out, they should be targeted at those who need it. “

Others, like Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, have instead doubled their commitment to progressive priorities such as raising the minimum wage by $ 15.

He and Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Are working on an amendment to the bill that would penalize large companies that pay their employees less than $ 15 an hour.

– Jacob Pramuk of CNBC contributed to this report.