WASHINGTON (AP) – A Congress full of partisan lines on Tuesday approved a $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as President Joe Biden and Democrats called for a victory in a bill that orders government spending against pandemics and twin economic crises a nation.
The House gave final approval to Congress on the global package by a vote close to the 220-211 party line, precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republicans in both houses unanimously opposed the bill, characterizing it as inflated, full of liberal policies and ignoring the signs that crises are abating.
“Help is here,” Biden tweeted moments after the nominal call, which ended with applause from Democratic lawmakers. Biden said he would sign the measure Friday.
Most notable for many Americans are provisions that provide up to $ 1,400 in direct payments this year to most adults and that extend weekly emergency unemployment benefits by $ 300 in early September. But the legislation goes much further.
The move is aimed at the promises of the Democrats ’campaign and Biden’s top initial priority of easing a punch that hit the country a year ago. Since then, many Americans have been relegated to hermit lifestyles in their homes to prevent a disease that killed more than 525,000 people, approximately the population of Wichita, Kansas, and plunged the economy into their homes. deeper depths since the Great Depression.
“Today we have a decision to make with great consequence,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, “a decision that will make a difference for millions of Americans, saving lives and livelihoods.” .
For Biden and Democrats, the bill is basically a canvas on which they have painted their core beliefs: that government programs can be a benefit, not a disaster, for millions of people, and that they spend large sums on those efforts. it 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.
Representative Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to oppose the measure. He said in a written statement that some of the bill’s expenses were not urgent.
Republicans noted that they have overwhelmingly supported five previous landmark 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 only reflected democratic goals, reserving money for family planning programs and for federal workers who lay off to deal with COVID-19 and did not demand that closed schools accepting aid reopen. doors.
“If you are a member of the swamp, you are doing well enough under this bill. But for the American people, that means serious problems immediately on the horizon, “said Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House minority in R-California, referring to the added federal loan the measure will force.
A key feature of the 628-page bill is initiatives that make it one of the largest federal efforts in years to help low- and middle-income families. It includes extended tax credits over the next year for minors, child care and family leave, some of which Democrats have said they would like to make permanent, as well as spending on tenants, food programs and bills. of public services.
In addition to direct payments and the extension of unemployment benefits, the measure has hundreds of billions for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, schools, state and local governments, and industries suffering from airlines to wards. concerts. There are grants for colored farmers, pension systems and students who take out loans, and grants for consumers who buy health insurance and states that expand Medicaid coverage for people on lower incomes.
“Who will help you? Do we say that this is the whole survival of the fittest? No, “said House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth, D-Ky.” We live up to the opportunity. We deliver. ”
Underlining the bill’s approach, the Independent Tax Policy Center said the measure would give nearly 70% of its tax credits this year 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.
The measure was passed amid promising signs of recovery, albeit mixed.
Americans are getting vaccinated at increasingly robust rates, though this is mitigated by coronavirus variants and people’s growing impatience to curb social activities. Last month, the economy created 379,000 unexpectedly strong jobs, although there are 9.5 million fewer left than before the pandemic hit.
Republicans said the country will pay a price for the additional spending.
“It’s definitely a good policy to say,‘ Hey, we’re going to give you a $ 1,400 check, ’” said Rep. Tom Rice, RS.C. “But what they don’t talk about is what this bill costs.”
A survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found last week that 70% of Americans respond to Biden’s response to the virus, including a strong 44% of Republicans. According to a CNN poll released Wednesday, the relief law is supported by 61% of Americans, including almost all Democrats, 58% of independents and 26% of Republicans.
However, until November 2022, when control of the Senate and House will come into play, it will not be known whether voters will reward Democrats, punish them, or make decisions on unforeseen issues.
The trajectory of the bill has underscored the challenges Democrats are trying to build a legislative register to attract voters.
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’s almost no room for a party ranging from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin on the Conservative side to progressives like New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In the bill, progressives had to swallow large concessions to consolidate moderate support.
The most painful was eliminating the increase in the federal minimum wage approved by the House to $ 15 per hour in 2025. Moderates also managed to cut emergency unemployment benefits, which in an earlier version were $ 400 a week, and completely eliminate $ 1,400 stimulus controls for wage earners. levels lower than initially proposed.
At some point it seems likely that progressives will draw their own lines in the sand.