The Senate passed Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill – here’s the rest

The Senate adopted President Joe Biden’s benchmark $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan, a major step in the evolution of the bill.

The Senate, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., voted along party lines on Saturday to approve the massive Covid-19 relief plan, which includes $ 1,400 in stimulus checks for many Americans, $ 350 billion in aid to state and local governments and an extension of federal unemployment benefits.

The Democratic-led House now plans to vote on Senate legislation on Tuesday so President Joe Biden can sign it earlier this week, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Democrats are rushing to pass the package before the increased unemployment aid lapses on Sunday, March 14.

Adopting the Senate version outright avoids the complicated step of trying to resolve the differences between the two chambers in committee of conference. While the Senate bill is largely the same as the one passed by the House of Representatives at the end of February, there are some crucial differences.

The most notable difference between the bill passed by the House and the one approved by the Senate is that the latter does not contain an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour. Senate Democrats were forced to drop the provision after the parliamentarian ruled the chamber could not pass the pay hike for millions of Americans as part of the budget reconciliation.

Democrats in both Houses passed the US bailout by reconciliation, a process that allows a party to pass a bill with a simple majority vote, but restricts the types of provisions that can be included.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Has already made it clear that her caucus will “absolutely” pass the Senate bill, even if a minimum wage hike must be pursued in future legislation. Pelosi, in a statement on Saturday, hailed the Senate bill as “a huge step forward in beating the virus”.

“Today is a day of great progress and promise for the American people, as the Democratic Senate passed President Biden’s US bailout to save lives and livelihoods,” Pelosi said.

“The House now hopes to have a bipartisan vote on this life-saving legislation and urges Republicans to join us in recognition of the devastating reality of this vicious virus and the economic crisis and the need for decisive action.” , she said.

Although Pelosi calls for bipartisan support, Republicans on Capitol Hill almost universally oppose the bill as being too expensive even though the minimum wage hike is no longer included. Not a single Republican voted for Senate legislation, and Democrats are unlikely to win converts in the House.

Senate Democrats were forced to make concessions in order to keep the moderates in their own ranks on board, namely West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. The bill now maintains the federal jobless benefit supplement at $ 300 per week, rather than the $ 400 bill in the House. The change would keep the policy in place until September, rather than ending it on August 29, as the House plan did.

Still, House Democrats should have the votes to pass the Senate bill. Biden, in remarks after the Senate vote, said he expects people to start receiving stimulus checks this month.