Washington – The House approved the final version of President Biden $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill Wednesday, handing the new president a major legislative victory as he works to stabilize an economy still struggling to recover from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill, known as the American Rescue Plan Act, went from a vote of 220 to 211. One Democrat – Rep. Jared Golden of Maine – joined all Republicans in voting against the measure. Golden had previously voted against the version of the bill he passed last week. The legislation will soon go to Mr Biden’s desk, where he will sign it on Friday, the White House said. The Senate passed the bill following a marathon line of voting on Saturday.
Just 49 days into his presidency, Biden has said what could turn out to be the ultimate fulfillment of his presidency’s domestic policy, injecting hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy and strengthening his administration’s efforts. to speed up vaccinations, reopen schools, and get Americans out of work back to work. President, Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden plan to travel to promote the package once Congress convenes and the law is signed on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said .
Biden welcomed the approval of her plan following the House vote and praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called her “the best and most capable speaker in our nation’s history” as she made the package. through Congress and maintained unity among House Democrats.
“This legislation is about giving this nation’s backbone (the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who maintain this country) a chance to fight,” the president said.
JOSHUA ROBERTS / REUTERS
Democratic members of the House and Senate met after the bill was passed for a registration ceremony, during which Democratic leaders signed the legislation in the last step before heading to the House. White House for the signature of Mr.
“This is a momentous day in the history of our country because we have passed historic, consistent and transformative legislation,” Pelosi said in statements, noting that for many Democrats “this is the most consistent legislation many of us will ever be.” a party. a “.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats have kept their promise to provide relief to the American people if Georgia voters elect a pair of Democrats in the upper house, splitting from 50 to 50, with Harris voting tiebreaker.
“What do we call America?” He said. “We say to America, ‘Help is on the way.’
The rapid passage of the bill recalls the success of former President Barack Obama for the U.S. Recovery and Reinvestment Act shortly after he took office in 2009 to address the Great Recession. But that bill cost less than half of the U.S. bailout plan, and Mr. Biden, who was vice president at the time, seems to have concluded that going better is better, even if it means sacrificing some bipartisan support.
The American Rescue Plan provides $ 1,400 in direct payments to people earning up to $ 75,000 a year, $ 350 billion in state and local government grants, and $ 14 billion in vaccine distribution. The bill also provides $ 130 billion to elementary, middle and high schools to help secure reopening.
It includes an additional $ 300 billion in weekly unemployment benefits through September and an extended tax credit of up to $ 3,600 per child, initially distributed in monthly installments. According to an analysis by the Center for Budgeting and Priority Policies, the child tax credit could lift 4 million children out of poverty.
More than $ 50 billion will be distributed to small businesses, including $ 7 billion for the Payment Check Protection Program. The bill also provides $ 25 billion in aid to small and medium-sized restaurants, which have suffered significantly during the pandemic.
The measure expands the requirements for obtaining grants to purchase health insurance for people of all incomes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a provision that is especially controversial for Republicans who oppose the bill. It also encourages states to expand Medicaid under the ACA by getting the federal government to pay for new recipients. Several million people could save hundreds of dollars in health care costs once the bill becomes law.
Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that many Americans will begin receiving their stimulus checks later this month and will not carry Mr. Biden’s signature. Former President Donald Trump had his name printed on first aid relief rounds.
Democrats have announced the financial aid package as providing a necessarily desperate lifeline to the families most affected by the pandemic. But Republicans in both houses have criticized the measure for the $ 1.9 trillion price and scope, as well as for the Democrats’ decision to push the plan through Congress without Republican Party support.
Last week a version of the president’s relief plan passed through the House, but the Senate amended the package and approved it in a 50-49-party vote. The lower house on Wednesday voted on the measure amended by the Senate.
Changes in the Senate-amended measure include reducing an unemployment insurance benefit from $ 400 a week to $ 300 a week, but extending it until Sept. 6 instead of ending the additional aid in August. . It also made the first $ 10,200 in unemployment benefits not taxable for households earning less than $ 150,000.
The bill amended by the Senate also limited the requirements for direct controls. These commitments were negotiated to satisfy moderate Democrats in the Senate, particularly Senator Joe Manchin. Because Democrats have a 50-seat majority in the Senate, they require the support of all 50 Democrats to pass any controversial legislation, which means members like Manchin need to be loosened for bills to pass.
Lawmakers used a process known as budget reconciliation to introduce the relief plan through both houses, allowing it to pass the Senate with just a simple majority and without relying on Republican support. But the package had to comply with certain rules governing the reconciliation process, which led to a $ 15 minimum wage increase being withdrawn from the original House-approved proposal.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democrat-related Vermont independent who tabled an amendment to the final bill that raised the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour in 2025, but failed in a 42-58 vote.