The Canadian Press
Congress approves $ 1.9T virus relief bill in victory for Biden, Dems
WASHINGTON – A Congress divided along party lines passed the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on Wednesday, while President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph in the legislation that organizes government spending against a twin pandemic and economic crises that have affected a nation. The House gave Congress final approval for the 220-211 party line scan package precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republicans in both chambers unanimously opposed the legislation, characterizing it as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and indifferent to signs that the crisis is easing. “Help is here,” tweeted Biden moments after the call list, which ended with applause from Democratic lawmakers. Biden said he would sign the measure on Friday. Most notable for many Americans are the provisions that provide up to $ 1,400 in direct payments this year for most people and extend the weekly $ 300 emergency unemployment benefits until early September. But the legislation goes far beyond that. The move meets Democrats’ campaign pledges and Biden’s top initial priority of facilitating a double coup that hit the country a year ago. Since then, many Americans have been relegated to hermitic lifestyles in their homes to avoid a disease that has killed more than 525,000 people – about the population of Wichita, Kansas – and plunged the economy into its depths since the Great Depression. “Today we have to make a decision with tremendous consequences,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “A decision that will make a difference for millions of Americans, saving lives and livelihoods.” For Biden and Democrats, the bill is essentially a canvas on which they painted their fundamental beliefs – that government programs can be a benefit, not a curse, for millions of people and that spending large sums on such efforts can be the cure. , not a curse. The measure tracks the Democrats’ priorities so closely that many classify it with the greatest achievements of their careers and, despite their slim 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 increase in 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 pandemic struck a year ago, when the government divided under then President Donald Trump forced the parties to negotiate. They said it reflected only Democratic goals, setting aside money for family planning programs and federal officials who take leave to deal with COVID-19 and not requiring closed schools that accept aid to open their doors. “If you are a member of the swamp, you do very well with this project. But for the American people, that means serious problems immediately on the horizon, ”said minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Referring to the additional federal loan that the measure will force. Still, Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Commended the $ 29 billion bill for the struggling restaurant industry, tweeting that it would help them “survive the pandemic”, not to mention that they voted against the legislation. Democrats predicted this week that Republicans would do that, with Pelosi saying, “It is typical for them to vote no and win the money.” Wicker told reporters, “I am not going to vote for $ 1.9 trillion just because it has some good provisions. ”A dominant feature of the 628-page bill is the initiatives that make it one of the biggest federal efforts in years to help middle and low-income families. Included are expanded tax credits next year for children, childcare and family leave – some of which credits Democrats have signaled they would like to make permanent – plus spending on renters, food programs and utility bills. In addition to direct payments and the extension of unemployment benefits, the measure has hundreds of billions for vaccines and COVID-19 treatments, schools, state and local governments and industries in difficulty, from airlines to concert halls. There is help for farmers of color, pension systems and student borrowers, and subsidies for consumers who buy health insurance and states that expand Medicaid coverage for the poor. “Who’s going to help? Do we say that all of this is survival of the fittest? No, ”said the chairman of the House Budget Committee, John Yarmuth, D-Ky. “We are up to the occasion. We deliver. “The legislation would reduce the number of people living in poverty this year by about a third, from 44 million to 28 million, estimated the liberal-trend Urban Institute on Wednesday. The poverty rate for children would be reduced by more than half, said the institute, which examined the impact of the measure’s stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, food stamps and tax credits for children. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to oppose the measure “He said that part of the project’s spending was not urgent. The move was passed amid promising, though ambiguous, signs of recovery. Americans are being vaccinated at increasingly robust rates, although this is mitigated by variants of the coronavirus and by people’s growing impatience to restrict social activities. The economy created 379,000 unexpectedly strong jobs last month, but remains 9.5 million fewer than before the pandemic. Lycans said the country will pay a price for extra spending. “It’s certainly a good policy to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you a check for $ 1,400,'” said Congressman Tom Rice, RS.C. “But what they don’t talk about is the costs of that account.” A survey by the Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center found last week that 70% of Americans support Biden’s response to the virus, including 44% of Republicans. According to a CNN poll released on Wednesday, the relief bill is supported by 61% of Americans, including almost all Democrats, 58% of independents and 26% of Republicans. Even so, until November 2022, when control of the Senate and the House will be at stake, it will be uncertain whether voters will reward Democrats, punish them or make decisions on unforeseen issues. The project’s path has emphasized the challenges of Democrats as they seek to build a legislative record to attract voters. Democrats control the Senate, split 50-50, just because Vice President Kamala Harris gives them the winning vote in tied votes. They only have 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 New York deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In the relief bill, progressives had to swallow large concessions to solidify moderate support. The most painful thing was to eliminate the increase in the federal minimum wage approved by the House to $ 15 an hour by 2025. Moderates were also able to cut emergency unemployment benefits, which in an earlier version were $ 400 a week, and eliminate $ 1,400 stimulus checks completely for wage earners at lower levels than originally proposed. At some point, it seems likely that progressives will draw their own lines in the sand. Alan Fram, The Associated Press