The Senate approved Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill – here’s what comes next

The Senate approved President Joe Biden’s landmark $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package, an important step in the evolution of the bill.

The Senate, led by majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., voted according to party lines on Saturday to approve the massive Covid-19 relief plan, which includes $ 1,400 stimulus checks for many Americans, $ 350 billion in aid to state and local governments and an extension of federal unemployment benefits.

The Democratic-led House now plans to vote on Senate legislation on Tuesday so President Joe Biden can sign it earlier in the week, according to House majority leader Steny Hoyer. Democrats are rushing to approve the package before the increase in unemployment benefits slows down on Sunday, March 14.

The approval of the Senate version avoids the complicated step of trying to resolve the differences between the two chambers in the conference committee. Although the Senate bill is basically the same as the one approved by the House of Representatives in late February, there are some crucial differences.

The most notable difference between the bill passed by the House and the one passed by the Senate is that the latter does not contain an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour. Senate Democrats were forced to abandon this provision after the congressman decided that the chamber could not approve the salary increase for millions of Americans under budget reconciliation.

Democrats in both chambers approved the American Rescue Plan through reconciliation, a process that allows a party to pass a bill with a simple majority vote, but restricts the types of clauses that can be included.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Has already made it clear that her caucus will “absolutely” approve the Senate bill, even if an increase in the minimum wage should be sought in future legislation. Pelosi, in a statement on Saturday, praised the Senate bill as a “tremendous step forward to defeat the virus.”

“Today is a day of great progress and promise for the American people, as the Democratic Senate approved President Biden’s Rescue Plan to save lives and livelihoods,” said Pelosi.

“The House now hopes to have a bipartisan vote on this life-saving legislation and urges Republicans to join us in recognition of the devastating reality of this vicious virus and the economic crisis and the need for decisive action,” she said.

Although Pelosi is asking for bipartisan support, Republicans on Capitol Hill are almost universally opposed to the bill because he considers it too expensive, even though the minimum wage is no longer included. Not a single Republican voted in favor of Senate legislation, and Democrats are unlikely to win converts in the House.

Senate Democrats were forced to make concessions to keep moderates in their own ranks on board, namely Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The legislation now maintains the federal unemployment benefit supplement at the current $ 300 a week, instead of the $ 400 from the House bill. The change would keep the policy in place until September, instead of ending it on August 29, as the House plan did.

Still, House Democrats are expected to have the votes to pass the Senate bill. Biden, in comments after the Senate vote, said he expects people to start receiving stimulus checks this month.