After working overnight on a mountain of amendments – almost all of them Republican and rejected – the bleary-eyed senators approved the package in a 50-49 vote on the party line. This sets the House’s final congressional approval next week so lawmakers can send him to Biden for his signature.
“We tell the American people that help is on the way,” said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. Citing the country’s desire to return to normalcy, he added: “Our job now is to help our country get out of this stormy present and into a promising future.”
The huge package – its total spending is almost a tenth the size of the entire United States economy – is Biden’s top initial priority. It is his formula to face the deadly virus and a limp economy, twin crises that have plagued the country for a year.
Saturday’s vote was also a pivotal political moment for Biden and the Democrats, who need nothing less than the party’s unanimity in a 50-50 Senate they dispute over Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaker vote. They also have a small 10 vote advantage in the House.
A small but fundamental group of moderate Democrats leveraged changes to the bill that infuriated progressives, making it easier for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., To steer the measure in the House. But the rejection of his first signature bill was not an option for Democrats, who face two years of attempts to govern Congress, with virtually no room for error.
The project offers direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for most Americans, extended emergency unemployment benefits and huge stacks of spending for vaccines and COVID-19 tests, struggling states and cities, schools and industries, along with tax breaks. to help low-income people, families with children and consumers who buy health insurance.
SEE ALSO: What it is, it is not in the Senate version of the COVID-19 relief bill
The package has faced solid opposition from Republicans, who see it as an unnecessary spending spree for the Democrats’ liberal allies, who ignore recent indications that the pandemic and the economy may be around the corner.
“The Senate has never spent $ 2 trillion more at random,” said Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Regarding the Democrats, he said: “His main priority was not relieving the pandemic. It was their wish list in Washington.”
The Senate started a dreaded “chance vote” – a continuous series of votes on amendments – just before midnight on Friday, and in the end dismissed about three dozen. The Senate has been in session since 9 am EST Friday.
During the night, the camera was like an experiment in the best techniques for staying awake. Several lawmakers seemed to rest their eyes or nap at their desks, often burying their faces in their hands. At one point, Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, 48, one of the youngest senators, trotted into the chamber and did a prolonged stretch.
The move follows five previous measures, totaling about $ 4 trillion, which Congress has approved since last spring and comes amid signs of a possible turnaround.
SEE ALSO: Could this be the final package with stimulus checks?
Vaccine supplies are growing, deaths and case numbers have declined, but are still frighteningly high, and hiring has been surprisingly strong last month, although the economy remains 10 million jobs lower than its pre-pandemic levels.
The Senate package has been repeatedly delayed because Democrats made last-minute changes to balance the demands of their moderate and progressive rival factions.
Work on the bill was halted on Friday after an agreement between Democrats over the extension of emergency benefits to the unemployed appeared to collapse. Almost 12 hours later, leading Democrats and West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, perhaps the most conservative Democrat in the House, said they had a deal and the Senate passed it in a 50-49 party vote.
Under his agreement, weekly $ 300 emergency unemployment checks – in addition to regular state benefits – would be renewed, with a final payment made on October 6. jobs and risked tax fines on benefits.
The House’s relief bill, largely similar to that of the Senate, provided weekly benefits of $ 400 through August. Current payments of $ 300 a week expire on March 14, and Democrats want the bill to be on Biden’s desk to avoid a lapse.
Manchin and the Republicans said that higher unemployment benefits discourage people from returning to work, a justification that most Democrats and many economists reject.
This agreement on unemployment benefits was not the only movement that showed dominance by moderates.
The Senate voted on Friday to expel a House-approved increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025, a major defeat for progressives. Eight Democrats opposed the increase, suggesting that Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., And other progressives who promised to continue the effort in the coming months will face a difficult struggle.
Party leaders also agreed to restrict eligibility for the $ 1,400 stimulus checks that will go to most Americans. That amount would be reduced gradually until, according to the Senate bill, it reaches zero for people who earn $ 80,000 and couples who earn $ 160,000. These values were higher in the House version.
Many of the rejected Republican amendments were attempts to force Democrats to cast politically inappropriate votes or Republicans to show their zeal for issues that attract their voters.
This included frustrated efforts to prevent the bill’s education funds from going to schools that were closed because of the pandemic that did not reopen its doors or that allowed male transgender students to participate in women’s sports. An amendment would have blocked aid to so-called sanctuary cities, where local authorities refuse to help federal authorities arrest immigrants who are illegally in the United States.
Friday’s stalemate due to the unemployment benefits stalemate was not the bill’s long delay. A day earlier, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Forced city officials to read aloud the entire 628-page bill, a tiring task that lasted nearly 11 hours.
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
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