The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted largely along party lines to schedule a final vote Wednesday morning following the passage of President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill.
On the final passage, the House voted at 219-210 to book a two-hour debate that began at 9 am before the vote. A Democrat joined in voting against advancing all the attending Republicans.
The bill includes $ 1,400 incentive checks for most adults and vast sums of money for state and local governments and businesses, and it is expected to pass the House with no Republican vote.
The massive US Rescue Plan Act would be Biden’s first major legislative achievement as president. The Senate was passed on Saturday and the previous House-pass version underwent major changes.
The bill is being repealed through Congress only with democratic votes under special budget reconciliation rules, which allow for a bare majority in the Senate, rather than the usual 60-vote supremacy.
The Senate on Saturday approved the final words after a rushed struggle over details on the unemployment insurance rate and limits for incentive checks.
In a nod to more conservative Democrats, the income cap for incentive checks was reduced by $ 80,000, down from $ 100,000 in the original House-pass version of the bill. A weekly unemployment supplement was reduced from $ 400 to $ 300.
The Senate lawmaker ordered that the original House-Pass bill be scrapped by provisions to raise the national minimum wage to $ 15 per hour and provide $ 140 million for a rail project near the California district of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The package includes $ 350 billion in state and local aid and $ 75 billion for COVID-19 vaccination, testing and other epidemiological medical supplies.
The bill provides a $ 1,400 incentive check to adults earning up to $ 75,000 per year, with reduced amounts for earners under $ 80,000. An additional $ 1,400 check is provided for each dependent child. In a change from previous incentive checks, income limits also apply to checks for children.
Parents also receive a new annual tax credit of $ 3,000- $ 3,600 per child in the bill, currently from $ 2,000 per child.
Republicans largely say the bill is poorly focused and won’t spend a lot of money until after the epidemic ends. For example, it offers more than $ 120 billion for K-12 schools, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates that no more than 90 percent will be spent in 2021, as the funds approved for schools last year were spent. has not been done.
The conservatives failed to remove a provision that allocated an estimated $ 5 billion to a program that would pay up to 120 percent of the outstanding debt of minority farmers.
The bill also establishes 15 weeks of paid leave for federal employees, including employees of the US Postal Service, for COVID-19 related reasons, including the care of children who do not have school or daycare, And creates a new $ 25 billion grant program specifically for bars and restaurants that will make up for lost revenue.
Leave a Reply