Senate Democrats continued to advance a $1.9 trillion coronavirus (CCP) bailout bill Thursday (March 4) after a key vote by the U.S. vice president, which is expected to pass within days.
Because of changes to the bill’s content, the bill will need to pass the Senate before being sent back to the House for a vote.
Senate Republicans collectively opposed this legislation by Democrats, arguing that the beneficiaries of the bailout package did not target those who needed to be bailed out and that a large amount of money was invested in non-related bailout areas, but they did not have enough votes to veto the bill, so they wanted to drag out the process to express their dissent.
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, asked staff to read the 628-page bill, which is expected to take several hours to complete.
The reading will be followed by hours of Senate debate and a marathon “vote-a-rama” in which multiple bipartisan amendments to the budget resolution could be considered.
Democrats are expected to ultimately overwhelmingly oppose the Republican amendment to pass the $1.9 trillion bailout bill.
They already plan to pass a budget resolution that would enable a legislative process called “legislative reconciliation,” which would allow them to pass Biden‘s bailout bill with a simple majority.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate will complete the legislation this week, “however long it takes.
The vote Thursday afternoon was strictly partisan, with all 50 Democrats voting yes and all 50 Republicans voting no.
Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) joined Democrats in casting the key vote Thursday afternoon, breaking a 50-to-50 deadlock and officially launching Senate debate on the Biden Administration‘s signature legislation to address the pandemic.
Bill would give money to families, bail out states with financial problems
The bill would hand out $1,400 checks directly to many Americans and provide $350 billion to state and local governments, covering vaccine distribution and expansion of the child tax credit, among other things.
Pushed by Democratic centrists, the Democrats narrowed the group of people who would receive direct payments. Individuals earning less than $75,000 and married couples earning less than $150,000 would still receive the $1,400 subsidy, but the amount would be reduced accordingly for those earning more. Subsidies would not be available for individuals earning $80,000 and couples earning $160,000; down from the previous caps of $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples.
Senate Democrats would also remove a measure in the House-approved legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. The Senate rules limit the content of provisions that lawmakers can negotiate through legislation, and provisions to raise the minimum wage cannot be included in a bailout bill.
In addition, Democratic attempts to spend a portion of state and local funds on expanding broadband access also received rule restrictions.
Republicans are all in against the $1.9 trillion bailout bill, arguing that the large amounts of aid to state and local governments included in the bill are wasteful and unnecessary.
“This has nothing to do with (bailing out) the economy, it’s going to throw a whole lot of money at states that are fiscally irresponsible.” Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, said of the provision giving state and local aid.
Democrats, meanwhile, said the legislation is necessary to get the United States through the pandemic, noting that polls show public support for the bill.
“There is tremendous bipartisan support for these provisions,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Amendments that Senate Democrats are prepared to offer on “consecutive votes” include increasing the size of the health care subsidy for the unemployed to cover people’s entire health insurance premiums under COBRA (the post-employment insurance act), more than the 85 percent coverage proposed by the House.
Democrats also plan to provide $8.5 billion for hospitals in rural areas and $10 billion for infrastructure projects. The amount to fund states also calls for a return to the amount previously negotiated and frequently rejected by Democrats with the Trump administration.
Against the backdrop of widespread vaccination and Epidemic cooling in the U.S. and a strong economic recovery in sight, the U.S. Congress has pushed forward with a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that has caused many market participants to worry about increased Inflation in the U.S. economy and an overheated short-term boom.
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