House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attends a press conference on the third day of the Senate impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, USA, February 11, 2021.
Erin Scott | Reuters
Several House committees have approved parts of the Democrats’ $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, while the House moves to approve the full package by the end of the month.
The Forms and Appeals Committee put forward a critical piece of legislation on Thursday night. He would send $ 1,400 in direct payments to most Americans, extend the main unemployment programs until the end of August, and give families up to $ 3,600 a year per child.
Other House panels, including the Education and Labor, Financial Services, Transport and Small Business Committees, approved their parts of the proposal. Under the arduous budgetary reconciliation process that Democrats are using to pass legislation without Republican votes, the House Budget Committee will combine the separate projects into one package.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she thinks the House will approve the bailout proposal before the end of the month. The California Democrat expects the bill to pass the Senate and President Joe Biden’s desk before the lifeline for unemployed Americans expires on March 14.
Democrats said they needed to act as quickly as possible to inject more money into efforts to contain the virus, speed up vaccinations and boost Americans struggling to pay for food and housing. With unified but tight control of Congress and the White House, they seem willing to approve a bill on their own, instead of taking weeks or months to negotiate a smaller package with the Republican Party.
Republicans raised concerns about passing another massive spending bill after lawmakers approved a $ 900 billion aid plan in December. A group of Republican senators met with Biden earlier this month and presented a counter offer of about $ 600 billion, but Democrats rejected the plan as too small to face the crisis.
Congress waited months to approve the December aid package after major unemployment benefits and small business programs expired last summer. Inaction has contributed to millions of Americans falling into poverty, struggling to buy food and missing out on rent.
The latest government data shows that more than 20 million people are receiving unemployment insurance.
Democrats still have to overcome obstacles to pass the bill on their own. Not only do they need to make the bill comply with Senate budget rules, they also cannot lose a single Democratic vote in the House divided equally by party.
The Forms and Means Committee’s share of the House’s plan advanced on Thursday contains a large part of the general bailout proposal. He would direct an amount of $ 1,400 to individuals who earn up to $ 75,000 and couples who earn up to $ 150,000.
To ease concerns about the effective targeting of money – which hampered the Senate’s plan approval – payments would be phased out, so that no individual or couple who earned more than $ 100,000 or $ 200,000, respectively, would receive a check. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. said on Thursday that the structure is “very close” to what his caucus would support.
The bill approved by Ways and Means would increase the current federal unemployment supplement from $ 300 a week to $ 400, and extend it until August 29. It would also maintain programs that expand eligibility for benefits and the number of weeks that people can receive unemployment insurance in effect until the same date.
The plan would also increase assistance to families with children. Americans would receive up to $ 3,600 per child for children under 6 and $ 3,000 per child for children under 18.
The relief would be phased out by $ 75,000 in income for individuals and $ 150,000 for couples.
Among the main provisions in other parts of the legislation, it would put $ 20 billion in a national vaccination program, $ 170 billion in expenses for schools, including reopening costs, and $ 350 billion in aid to state, local and tribal governments. . Biden plans to meet with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors on Friday to discuss the rescue package.
Democrats have also proposed a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour, and Pelosi hopes the House will approve the provision in the final legislation. However, it is not clear whether the proposal will comply with Senate budget rules.
Two Democratic senators – Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – also expressed doubts about whether to pass a $ 15 hourly minimum wage.
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