On Saturday, the Senate passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief stimulus bill after long deliberations and debates on certain fundamental aspects of the bill.
The final vote was along partisan lines at 50-49. All the Democrats voted for the bill and all the Republicans voted against the bill. There was no need of a filibuster vote from President Kamal Harris on Saturday as the GOP was one senator short of the required 50. Senator Dan Sullivan had to leave on Friday itself, as he had a family emergency.
The three main provisions of the stimulus bill include
- $1400 stimulus checks for eligible Americans
- $350 billion for local and state governments
- Extension of federal unemployment benefits that are set to lapse
Now that the Bill has been passed by the Senate amid a vote-a-rama, the bill is back at the House. The House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says that the House will vote on the bill on Tuesday, so it can reach President Joe Biden’s office early in the week. It needs to be passed into law before unemployment benefits lapse on Sunday, March 14.
Democrats made a few changes in the bill as there were some members who disagreed with certain aspects of the bill. One of the most touted promise of the Democrats which had lots of support from President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders Independent member from Vermont, the $15 per hour wage bill across the nation had to be dropped for the moment, due to opposition from Democrats as well, as time is of the essence to pass the bill into law.
The senate passed the bill through the process of budget reconciliation which required every Democratic vote in the Senate. So, a few changes were made. The bill is expected to sail through the House as all the small issues that were raised by some of the Democrats have been resolved.
The House is hoping for bipartisan support but they did not receive any support the first time President Joe Biden’s coronavirus bill was passed before it reached the Senate. In the Senate, it has been passed once again without the support of a single Republican.
Now, once again in the House, the stimulus bill will most probably receive support only from the Democrats. The GOP said that the relief bill was spending too much and the economy could not sustain it.
