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The House of Representatives is ready to give final approval to Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 million coronavirus stimulus aid and stimulus plan, a giant aid package the president has said is crucial to get the US out of the pandemic and revive its battered economy.
If approved by the House on Wednesday, as Democratic leaders expect, the first major legislative initiative by the Biden presidency will boost assistance to families suffering from a public health crisis for a year and provide the most generous expansion of helps low-income Americans. generation.
It will send direct payments of up to $ 1,400 to most Americans, expand aid to state, local and tribal governments, provide federal subsidies to those struggling to pay for health insurance, housing and food, and deliver money to increase distribution. and testing for the Covid-19 vaccine and to safely open schools.
Economists predict that as one of the largest emergency rescue packages in U.S. history, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will accelerate economic recovery, increasing growth to levels not seen in recent decades and drastically reducing the number of people living in poverty.
According to one estimate, the ARP could halve child poverty by extending a tax credit for families with children that many Democrats want to make permanent.
House Democrats, who have a narrow majority, were confident the measure would pass Wednesday morning, despite changes in the Senate threatening to alienate some progressives.
New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, president of the Democratic House Caucus, said he was “110%” confident in the success. Once approved by the House, the bill will be sent to Biden for signature.
The Senate passed the bill Saturday in a 50-49 vote, with Democrats overcoming unified Republican opposition and a last-minute objection from West Virginia member Joe Manchin, a member of his own party.
The package presented to the House on Wednesday was smaller than Biden’s initial proposal, which included progressive priorities, later removed or reduced to appease moderates like Manchin, who echoed Republicans with concerns that the aid infusion was too much. great in an economy that showed signs of rebirth.
A provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour was deemed inadmissible according to a budget process that Democrats used to ignore the Republican opposition.
The Senate-approved version strengthens eligibility for stimulus controls and restructures a proposed unemployment benefit that Biden hoped to increase to $ 400 a week. Under the new plan, unemployment benefits will remain at $ 300 a week, but will be expanded in early September instead of August. The first $ 10,200 supplements starting in 2020 will be tax-free.
Although disappointed with some of the amendments, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, president of the Progressive Congress, called them “relatively minor concessions” and said the overall package remained “truly progressive and bold.”
Republicans say the plan is excessive and does not match the economic and public health outlook, as more Americans are vaccinated and states are moving to reopen businesses and schools. They have also revived concerns about the package growing national debt, concerns that were set aside under Donald Trump.
“We know for sure that it includes provisions that are not addressed, are not temporary, are not Covid-related, and should not have been so,” said Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Speaker of the House Republican Conference. “We could have had a bill that was a fraction of the cost of this. We could have received the approval and support of the bipartisan.”
The extraordinary price has nothing to do with the $ 2.2 million coronavirus relief bill signed by Donald Trump at the start of the pandemic last March. It will be the sixth spending bill enacted by Congress to deal with the devastation caused by the twin economic and public health crises, and is about to be the first to pass without the support of bipartisanship despite the campaign’s promise. of Biden from working with Republicans.
Still, the lack of consensus in Washington belies its popularity among voters across the political spectrum and local and state officials from both parties. Encouraged by polls showing widespread public support for the bill, Biden and Democrats have argued that the plan is bipartisan.
Final approval of the bill will come a day before Biden delivers his first prime-time speech on Thursday, marking the first anniversary of the introduction of public health measures to try to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus. which has killed nearly 525,000 Americans and attacked the economy.
While the distribution of vaccines is increasing dramatically and the economy is showing some signs of improvement, Democrats say the recovery is precarious and uneven and that low-income Americans still need help. Millions of Americans remain unemployed and the hardest hit are the hardest hit.
“This not only brings us to the other side of this crisis, but it really begins to heal the wounds caused by this crisis,” said Steny Hoyer, the leader of the Democratic majority in the House.
After Biden signs the bill, he and other senior officials will continue to promote the plan to the U.S. public, part of the new administration’s push to ensure Democrats receive credit for the economic recovery ahead of the midterm elections. term of the 2022 congress.
“We certainly recognize that we can’t just sign a bill,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. “We will have to do some work and use our best voices, including the president, vice president and others, to communicate to the American people the benefits of this package.”
In an apartment of his predecessor, Biden’s signature will not appear on the memo line of stimulus checks sent to Americans, Psaki said. “It’s not about him,” he added. “It’s about getting the American people relief.”