U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speak to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 29, 2020.
Erin Scott | Reuters
The House of Representatives has adopted President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 billion stimulus package, which will plan the day of debate and political agreement in and around the Senate.
The House, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, voted early Saturday largely along party lines to advance the massive relief plan, which includes expanding programs designed to assist millions of unemployed Americans and provide financial support to state and local governments.
As the bill is split on a 50-50 Senate between Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers will propose amendments to the House plan next week and likely approve a different version of the bill they receive.
Should that happen, the House would have to go through the Senate version, or the two chambers would have to meet to draft a final, agreeable draft in a conference committee. Democrats rush to send the bill to Biden’s desk by March 14, when unemployment benefits expire.
In advocacy for the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., on Thursday stressed that millions of Americans remain in serious economic trouble.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime health and economic crisis that took place once a century,” he wrote on Twitter. “But Republican leaders are ‘allegedly’ trying to get every Republican member to oppose urgent, courageous COVID relief. “
“Make no mistake,” he added, “we will provide the American rescue plan with overwhelming public support.”
Democrats have a slim majority in both the House and Senate and have decided to try to pass Biden’s stimulus plan through a process known as budget reconciliation. Reconciliation allows a party to pass a bill by a simple majority vote, but limits what can be included in the bill to items that have a significant impact on the federal deficit.
Although the House passed their bill with a federal minimum wage of $ 15 per hour, the Senate MP on Thursday decided that the salary increase could not be included in any bill under conciliation.
The parliamentary ruling underscores the fragility of the composition of the bill in the Senate, where even a single Democratic no can condemn Biden’s first important legislation.
Party leadership is likely to focus on middle-democratic states, such as Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who are more likely to provide provisions they see as expensive or unnecessary.
Manchin had already doubted the fate of additional stimulus checks on January 8, before Biden’s inauguration.
The Conservative Democrat said he would “absolutely” take action against another round of direct payments, but later explained in a tweet: “If the next round of stimulus checks goes out, they should be aimed at those who need it.”
Others, such as Bernie Sanders, an independent in Vermont, have doubled their commitment to progressive priorities, such as the $ 15 minimum wage increase.
He and Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Are working on an amendment to the bill that would penalize large businesses that pay their employees less than $ 15 an hour.
– Jacob Pramuk of CNBC contributed to this report.