President Biden urged the Senate to move quickly to approve its US bailout plan, hours after the House closely approved the $ 1.9 trillion legislation. In brief comments Saturday morning, Mr. Biden said he had spoken with President Nancy Pelosi about passing the bill.
“Now, the bill is moving to the U.S. Senate, where I hope it gets quick action. We don’t have time to waste,” Biden said. “If we act now with determination, speed and courage, we can finally get ahead of this virus. Finally, we can get our economy moving again. And the people of this country have suffered too much for too long. We need to relieve “The American rescue plan does just that.”
Two Democrats, Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine, voted with Republicans in the 219-212 vote early Saturday morning. Not a single Republican voted in favor of the bill. The legislation includes $ 1,400 in direct checks for Americans earning less than $ 75,000, an additional unemployment bonus of $ 400 per week, money for vaccine distribution and funding to help schools and state governments, and premises.
The House bill also includes a provision that raises the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour in 2025, although the Senate MP decided that the bill could not include an increase in the federal minimum wage if the Congress uses the budget reconciliation process. Congress Democrats chose to use the procedural maneuver known as budget reconciliation to pass the bill, allowing it to be passed only by a simple majority in the Senate.
After the parliamentarian’s decision, the Senate Democrats are now there competing to finalize a new tax provision this would penalize large companies that pay low wages. The plan drafted by the aides of Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden of Oregon in close consultation with Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders of Vermont would impose a 5% tax penalty on companies “very large “who do not pay a certain amount to workers. .
Congress Democrats expect the final package to arrive at the Biden counter in mid-March, before the expiration of several critical aid programs that Congress established late last year.