The House passed its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill early Saturday, sending the massive proposal to the Senate as Democrats rush to approve more aid before unemployment programs expire.
It is the first major legislative initiative for President Joe Biden. The House approved it in a 219-212 mostly party line vote, as two Democrats joined all Republicans in opposing it.
Senators will start considering the pandemic assistance plan next week. Lawmakers will offer amendments, and the chamber will likely pass a different version of the bill, meaning the House would have to pass the Senate’s plan or the chambers would have to craft a final proposal in a conference committee.
Democrats, who hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate, opted to approve the legislation alone through budget reconciliation rather than hammer out a smaller aid package with Republicans. The process enables a bill to pass with a simple majority in the Senate.
The House plan includes:
- Payments of $1,400 to most individuals, along with the same amount for each dependent. Checks start to phase out at $75,000 in income and go to zero for individuals making $100,000
- A $400 per week unemployment supplement through Aug. 29, along with an extension of programs making millions more people eligible for jobless benefits
- An expansion of the child tax credit to give families up to $3,600 per child over a year
- $20 billion for Covid-19 vaccine distribution and $50 billion for testing and tracing efforts
- $350 billion in state, local and tribal government relief
- $25 billion for assistance in covering rent payments
- $170 billion for K-12 schools and higher education institutions to cover reopening costs and aid to students
- A $15 per hour federal minimum wage, which the Senate parliamentarian will not allow in the reconciliation bill on the other side of the Capitol
Democrats have called the bill necessary to speed up vaccinations — a critical step to resuming some level of pre-pandemic life — and sustain households at a time when roughly 19 million people are receiving jobless benefits.
Senate Democrats face more challenges in passing the legislation than the House did. While the party can approve the bill on its own, it will need every Democrat to support it in the Senate, which is split 50-50.
It is unclear if the proposal would comply with the Senate’s budget restrictions.
Reference: CNBC
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