The package includes direct aid to small businesses, $ 1,400 direct checks to Americans making less than $ 75,000 a year, an increase in the child tax credit, direct funding to state and local governments, and more money for vaccine distribution. The bill also includes funding for schools at both the secondary and higher education levels.
However, for any package to become law, it must be approved by both the House and the Senate. In the Senate, Democratic and Republican officials will sit as early as Tuesday with MP Elizabeth MacDonough to find out if the $ 15 minimum wage is allowed in the budget reconciliation process, which would allow the package to be approved with just 50 votes to 60 votes. MacDonough’s decision will determine the outcome of the next steps for Biden’s stimulus package and whether an increase in the minimum wage is included.
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The House Budget Committee vote Monday was Oct. 19-16, with a Democrat, Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who joined Republicans in voting against the relief package. However, Doggett’s spokesman said in a statement that voting against the package was an accident and that Doggett “supports the COVID-19 relief legislation.”
The committee will continue to vote on non-binding resolutions, but the advancement of the bill on Monday afternoon takes the official step towards a plenary vote.
The more than 590-page bill marks the first major piece of legislation to be advanced under the Biden administration and is the first opportunity for Congress Democrats to legislate with control of all three branches of government. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, will have a narrow margin to pass the bill later this week, without being able to lose more than five votes. Increasing the chances of the bill is the fact that many members, both on the moderate and progressive side, are reluctant to torpedo the first big question of the Biden administration.
The task in the Senate could be more difficult, as two moderate Democrats, Mr. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mr. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have made it clear that they are not comfortable voting on a coronavirus relief bill that includes a salary increase to $ 15 per hour for five years.
The provision, which was contained in the House bill, may not survive the budget process and the parliamentary review that requires all sections of the bill to comply with a strict set of rules. Lawmakers may know as soon as Tuesday evening whether or not provision is allowed under reconciliation, the process that allows Democrats to pass their bill with just 51 votes.
This story and title were updated on Tuesday to include additional news.
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