WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress rushed for final approval on Wednesday of a $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 historic relief bill, as President Joe Biden and the Democrats approached a major triumph for the party’s priorities and displayed the unity they need to forge future victories.
The House was on track to use a virtual party-line vote to approve the 628-page measure, which represents the Democrats’ effort to contain the catastrophic pandemic and revive the weak economy. Four days after the Senate passed the measure against unanimous Republican opposition, Republican Party counterparts were ready to do the same for a project they characterized as bloated, overflowing with liberal policies and indifferent to signs that the two crises are easing.
Democrats rejected those complaints.
“I ask my Republican colleagues to stop their March madness and show some compassion for their less wealthy voters,” said House Democratic No. 3 leader James Clyburn of South Carolina, as the House debated the legislation.
For Biden and Democrats, the project is essentially a canvas on which they painted their fundamental beliefs – that government programs can be a benefit, not a disgrace, for millions of people and that spending large sums on such efforts can be a cure, not a curse. The measure tracks the Democrats’ priorities so closely that many classify it as the greatest achievement of their careers and, despite its narrow majorities in Congress, there was never a real scare about their fate.
They were also strengthened by three dynamics: their unrestricted control of the White House and Congress, polls showing strong support for Biden’s approach and a time when the majority of voters are little concerned that the national debt is rising into the stratosphere. of $ 22 trillion. Neither party seems very concerned about the emergence of red ink, except when the other is using it to finance its priorities, whether they be Democratic spending or Republican Party tax cuts..
Republicans noted that they overwhelmingly supported five earlier relief bills that Congress passed since the epidemic a year ago – when the government divided under then President Donald Trump forced the parties to negotiate. They said this, written only by Democrats, was a bridge too far.
“This is not a rescue bill, it is not a relief bill. It is a long list of left-wing priorities prior to the pandemic, ”said House minority leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
A dominant feature of the bill is the initiatives that make it one of the largest federal initiatives in years to help middle- and low-income families. Included are expanded tax credits for children next year, childcare and family leave, in addition to expenses with renters, food programs and utility bills.
Measure provides up to $ 1,400 direct payments for most Americans, extended emergency unemployment benefits and hundreds of billions for vaccines and COVID-19 treatments, schools, state and local governments and distressed industries, from airlines to concert halls. There is help for farmers of color and pension systems, and subsidies for consumers who buy health plans and states are expanding Medicaid coverage for low-income people.
The Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center survey found last week that 70% of Americans support Biden’s response to the virus, including 44% of Republicans.
However, the project’s path highlighted the challenges of the Democrats as they seek to build a legislative record to persuade voters to keep them in Congress in next year’s elections.
Democrats control the Senate, split 50-50, just because Vice President Kamala Harris gives them the winning vote in tied votes. They have only a 10-vote lead in the House.
There is almost no room for maneuver for a party ranging from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin on the conservative side to progressives like Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Progressives had to swallow major concessions in the bill to solidify moderate support. The most painful thing was to reduce the increase in the federal minimum wage approved by the House to $ 15 an hour by 2025.
Moderates forced narrowing eligibility for $ 1,400 stimulus checks, now completely eliminated for individuals who earn $ 80,000 and couples who earn $ 160,000. The House’s initial extension of weekly $ 400 emergency unemployment payments, paid in addition to state benefits, has been reduced by the Senate to $ 300 and will now be stopped in early September.
Manchin was an important obstacle and in the middle of the negotiations that resulted in the containment of all these initiatives.
The independent Tax Policy Center said the Senate-approved bill would give nearly 70% of this year’s tax incentives to families earning $ 91,000 or less. In contrast, the Trump-era Republican Party tax bill gave almost half of its 2018 reductions to the 5% of families earning about $ 308,000, said the research center, which is run by the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.
However, keeping Democrats together will not be easier as the party tries to advance the rest of its agenda. There are lines of failure within the party on priorities such as immigration, health care and taxes.
At some point, it seems likely that progressives will draw their own lines in the sand. They are already demanding that the party review the minimum wage increase and, in the midst of all this, the Republicans are already demonstrating that they are ready to attack.
The American Action Network, linked to Republican Party leaders, said it launched digital ads in mostly moderate districts, calling the relief bill “a frivolous freight train to finance its liberal comrades.”
The bill passed the Senate under budget rules that prevented Republicans from throwing obstructions, which requires 60 votes for most measures. This process will not be available for much legislation in progress, but in any case, any defection from the Democratic Senate will render most bills unfruitful.