WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress moved Wednesday toward final approval of a $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 bill as President Joe Biden and Democrats approached a major triumph for the priorities of the match and showed the unity they will need to forge future victories.
The House was on track to use an online virtual vote to pass the 628-page measure, which represents the Democrats’ effort to curb the catastrophic pandemic and revive the weakened economy. Four days after the Senate passed the measure on unanimous Republican opposition, GOP House counterparts were willing to do the same for a bill they have characterized as inflated, cramped with liberal policies and without regard to signs that the dual crisis is easing.
Democrats rejected those complaints.
“I call on my Republican colleagues to stop the March madness and show some compassion for their voters who are less than rich,” said House No. 3 Democratic leader James Clyburn of South Carolina. the House debated the legislation.
For Biden and Democrats, the bill is essentially a canvas on which they have painted their core beliefs – that government programs can be a benefit, not a disaster, to millions of people, and that investing large sums in these efforts can be a cure, not a curse. The measure closely follows the priorities of Democrats that several classify with the major successes of his career, and despite his slim majorities in Congress, there has never been a real suspense about his fate.
They were also empowered by three dynamics: their free control of the White House and Congress, polls that show strong support for Biden’s approach, and a time when most voters care little about national debt. soar to about $ 22 trillion stratospheric dollars. Neither side seems very concerned about the growing red ink, unless the other uses it to fund its priorities, whether it’s Democratic spending or Republican Party tax cuts..
Republicans noted that they have overwhelmingly supported five previous relief projects that Congress has approved since the pandemic occurred a year ago, when the divided government of then-President Donald Trump forced the parties to negotiate. They said this, written solely by Democrats, was a bridge too far away.
“This is not a rescue bill, it is not a relief bill. It’s a list of left-wing priorities that predates the pandemic, “said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California
A key feature of the bill is initiatives that make it one of the largest federal efforts in years to help low- and middle-income families. Expanded tax credits for the next year for children are included, child care and family leave plus expenses for tenants, food programs and utility bills.
The measure provides up to $ 1,400 direct to most Americans, expanded emergency unemployment benefits and hundreds of billions for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, schools, state and local governments, and affected industries, from companies aerial to concert halls. There are grants for farmers of pension systems and colors and subsidies for consumers who buy health insurance and states that expand Medicaid coverage for people on lower incomes.
The NORC’s Associated Press-Center for Public Affairs Research survey found last week that 70% of Americans respond to Biden’s response to the virus, including a strong 44% of Republicans.
However, the path of the bill has underscored the challenges Democrats have in trying to build a legislative register. to convince voters to continue to lead Congress in next year’s elections.
Democrats control the Senate, which is divided between 50 and 50, only because Vice President Kamala Harris gives them the winning vote in tied calls. They have only 10 advantages in the House.
There is almost no room for a party that goes from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin to the Conservative side to progressives like Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Progressives had to swallow large concessions to the bill to consolidate moderate support. The most painful thing was dropping the increase in the federal minimum wage approved by the House to $ 15 per hour in 2025.
Moderates were forced to bolster eligibility for $ 1,400 stimulus checks, which have now been completely eliminated for people earning $ 80,000 and couples earning $ 160,000. The House’s initial extension of the $ 400 weekly emergency emergency payments, which is paid in addition to state benefits, was reduced by the Senate to $ 300 and will now stop in early September.
Manchin was an important leader and in the midst of talks that led to a halt to all these initiatives.
The Independent Tax Policy Center said the Senate-approved bill would give nearly 70 percent of this year’s tax credits to households earning $ 91,000 or less. In contrast, the Trump-era GOP tax bill gave nearly half of its 2018 reductions to the top 5% of households earning about $ 308,000, the research center said, directed by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, of liberal tendency.
Still, keeping Democrats together will not be easier as the party tries to advance the rest of its agenda. There are lines of fault within the party on priorities such as immigration, health care and taxes.
At some point it seems likely that progressives will draw their own lines in the sand. They are already demanding that the party review the minimum wage increase, and in the midst of all this, Republicans are already showing that they are ready to launch.
The American Action Network, linked to House GOP leaders, said it launched digital ads in mostly moderate districts, calling the relief bill “a freight train with frivolous spending to fund its peers.” liberals “.
The bill passed the Senate under budget rules that prevented Republicans from throwing filibusters, which require 60 votes for most measures. This process will not be available for many advancing legislations, but either way, any flaw in the Democratic Senate will cause most laws not to be beginners.