On Friday, the House passed the Senate-amended budget resolution, which set out the process for approving President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan, without the need for Republican Party support.
The bill passed in 219-209 with a Democrat joining all Republicans to vote against it.
“Our work to crush the coronavirus and provide relief to the American people is urgent and is of the highest priority,” Speaker said Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiHouse votes to oust Greene committees for embracing conspiracy theories Drama in Hoyer’s apartment: Top Democrat says Greene endangers executives from ousting “Squad” to Trump for declaring MORE (D-California) said in a letter to Democrats before the vote. “With this budget resolution, we have taken a giant step to save lives and livelihoods.”
The adoption of the budget resolution initiates a process called reconciliation, which can be approved by the Senate by a simple majority, skipping a possible filibuster of the GOP. The resolution includes instructions for Congressional Authorizing Committees to draft legislation that affects federal finances.
These instructions followed the outlines of Biden’s proposal, which includes $ 1,400 stimulus checks, expanded emergency unemployment benefits, funds for vaccine distribution and coronavirus testing, aid to state and local governments, and increases in child tax credits and income tax credits, among other things.
Pelosi said the House intends to finish the package by the end of the month.
The budget resolution came recently from the Senate, which ran a marathon, overnight, taking into account the amendments to the original proposal. The House had approved an earlier version of the measure on Wednesday.
The final version, which passed at 5:30 a.m. after 15 hours of debate and voting, included some strong signals from centrist Democrats awaiting changes to the proposal.
Democrats rely on party unanimity and Vice President Harris ’tiebreaker vote to pass legislation in the Senate 50-50; any “no” Democratic vote could sink a bill.
The Senate passed amendments calling for stimulus to be controlled and funds to be allocated to rural hospitals. The amendments were largely non-binding, but served to indicate the position of Congress on some key issues.
More controversial amendments related to fracking, the Keystone XL pipeline and whether stimulus controls would target undocumented immigrants were removed in a final amendment offered by the Senate majority leader. Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerSanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Blumenauer intend to demand that Biden declare a climate emergency. Biden must follow his own advice: commitment from the Senate as the first black secretary of the MORE Senate (DN.Y.).
Democrats said they supported restricting stimulus controls on undocumented immigrants, but argued that the language of the amendment would prevent children of citizens and undocumented immigrants from receiving the benefit, which would be a change from in the previous round of relief.
Biden has indicated that he prefers the bill to pass with the support of bipartisanship, but is willing to go ahead only with Democrats or with just a handful of Republican Party votes not reaching the ten he would need to pass legislation by order. regular.
On Monday, he spent two hours meeting with 10 Republican Party senators on his $ 618 billion counter-proposal for COVID-19 relief.
Biden has consistently stated that it is better to exceed the size of the relief bill than to exceed it, a lesson he says was learned in the most difficult way with Obama’s stimulus bill during the Great Recession, which many economists say was too small.
“One thing we have learned is, you know, we can’t do too much here; we can do too little. We can do too little and spit, ”Biden said Friday before a meeting with Democratic House leaders.
Democrats will also have to contend with strict budget rules in the Senate that could jeopardize significant aspects of their bailout proposal, most notably the plan to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 by 2025.
Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersSanders renounces night fight for minimum wage Night energy: Biden administration delays Trump’s withdrawal of migratory bird protections | Democrats try to block Arctic drilling | Democratic senator opts for standard clean electricity The Senate gives broad support for more specific coronavirus relief controls MORE (I-Vt.) He allowed an amendment of the Republican Party on the subject to be passed by voice vote. The amendment, he said, only restricted the minimum wage to $ 15 during a pandemic, which was not part of the proposed gradual increase in the bill.