Senate paves way to pass Biden’s stimulus bill without GOP support. What’s next?

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Summer Lin
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The Senate passed a budget resolution Friday morning that paves the way to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan without any Republican support.

Democrats passed the resolution 51-50 after Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. The House approved its version of the budget measure on Wednesday and will vote again on the Senate version, which added several amendments. After ratification, congressional committees will draft the relief bill and send it to the Budget Committee to assemble a final version of the package, which will then head back to the House and Senate for final approval.

“I am so thankful that our caucus stayed together in unity,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. “We had no choice given the problems facing America and the desire to move forward. And we have moved forward.”

Democrats are hoping to pass the stimulus deal before Mar. 14, the day that $300 weekly unemployment benefits approved in December’s coronavirus package expire. That timeline has added to the lawmakers’ desire to go with the budget reconciliation route, a process that allows for “expedited consideration” of legislation on spending, taxes and debt. Reconciliation would allow Democrats to bypass the 60-vote requirement for advancing the legislation without a filibuster.

Biden’s $1.9 trillion emergency plan, unveiled in January, would send $1,400 checks to individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and joint filers earning up to $150,000, if the income levels stay the same as with the first two rounds of payments. The proposal would also provide $1,400 per child or adult dependent.

In addition to direct payments, Biden’s plan also includes a $400 weekly unemployment benefit through September, $415 billion to boost the pandemic response and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, about $440 billion for small businesses and communities and $130 billion for schools. The plan also calls for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Efforts to change the relief proposal founder

Some Republicans have balked at the cost of the package and want more “targeted” relief for families during the pandemic.

A group of 10 Republican senators, led by Maine’s Susan Collins, released a plan on Monday morning that includes $1,000 direct payments to Americans instead of the $1,400 checks proposed by Biden. The plan would provide $1,000 stimulus checks for individuals making up to $40,000 a year and phase them out completely when income reaches $50,000. Joint filers would get $2,000 with a phasing out beginning at $80,000 a year with an income cap at $100,000.

Biden said on a call with Democrats on Wednesday to hold steady on the size of the $1,400 checks but that he would be open to reducing the income requirements for the payments, Forbes reported.

“We can’t walk away from an additional $1,400 in direct checks, because people need it ... we can better target the number, I’m OK with that. I’m not going to start my administration by breaking a promise to people,” Biden said.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, confirmed Tuesday that he would vote to advance a budget resolution, which he did Friday, but he reasserted he wants Democrats to work with Republicans on the relief package.

“I will vote to move forward with the budget process because we must address the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis. But let me be clear — these are words I shared with President Biden — our focus must be on the COVID-19 crisis and Americans who have been most impacted by this pandemic,” Manchin said.

Lawmakers had also floated splitting up the relief package into parts focused on stimulus checks and distributing vaccines and leaving out more contentious provisions of the deal, such as aid for state and local governments.

The proposal of splitting up the deal was shot down last week by White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who said the Biden administration is “not going to do this in a piecemeal way or break apart a big package meant to address the crisis we’re facing.”

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