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Original title: The rescue plan is difficult to approve and the two parties in the United States have clear opinions on the rescue effort.
Original caption: The two sides have clear views on the rescue efforts, greatly reducing the difficulty for the United States Senate to pass the economic rescue plan.
Our newspaper’s special correspondent in the United States Jiang Ziyi Our reporter’s reporter Shao Yijia
After more than 25 hours of debate and voting, the United States Senate voted 50 in favor and 49 against on the 6th to approve the $ 1.9 trillion economic rescue plan in response to the economic impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. According to the “Washington Post” report of the 7th, due to multiple content changes, the bill will be sent back to the House of Representatives for reconsideration and a vote. Since the House of Representatives is currently controlled by Democrats, there is little suspense in voting for it. After both houses are passed, the bill will go to President Biden next week for formal enactment. Biden said that while the process is not easy, the American people “urgently need” this rescue plan.
The voting results reflect the clear division between the two parties in the United States. According to a National Broadcasting Corporation report on the 7th, in the two-party tug of war on the bailout bill, Republican senators used the rules of procedure to insist on “reading 628 pages of the bill in full text. “in to delay the Senate debate and the subsequent vote, so they only read it out loud. The full text took 11 hours. In the subsequent vote, all Democrats voted in favor, no Republicans voted in favor, and one Republican congressman did not attend the vote due to his family’s funeral. Senate Minority Leader and Republican McConnell criticized that the Senate had never “so recklessly” passed a nearly $ 2 trillion budget. Senate Majority Leader Schumer said the economic rescue plan will help the United States overcome the epidemic that has claimed the lives of more than 520,000 Americans.
During the voting process, there was also an episode in which a Democrat accidentally “backed off”, prompting fierce lobbying between the two parties that lasted for nearly 12 hours. CNN reported that Senator Manchin, the Democrat of West Virginia, opposed the increase in unemployment benefits on the 5th and sided with the Republican Party. Republicans did their best to win over Manchin and prevent passage of the bill, while Democrats did their best to persuade Manchin and try to maintain party unity. In the end, Manchin came to terms with his fellow Democrats and agreed to vote yes, but the Democrats also made a compromise and agreed to the Republicans’ revised requirements, reducing unemployment benefits from $ 400 a week to $ 300 and extending the applicable time to 9. Day 6. Manchin said he believes that, on the one hand, it is necessary to stimulate the economy and accelerate economic recovery, on the other hand, it should not overburden taxpayers too much.
Reuters reported that Republican senators have proposed more than 30 amendments to the bill. They believe that many of the economic stimulus measures proposed by the Democrats are too generous and unnecessary, which will increase America’s fiscal deficit and damage long-term economic health. from United States. Republicans noted that the number of unemployed has shown a downward trend. The latest data released by the US Department of Labor shows that the unemployment rate in February was 6.2%, a decrease of 0.1% from January. Currently, 9.5 million people in the United States are unemployed due to the new corona pneumonia epidemic.
Compared to the version previously approved by the House of Representatives, the economic rescue plan approved in the Senate on the 6th has significantly reduced subsidies. Not only did it change the part about unemployment benefits, but it also removed content that Democrats in the House of Representatives advocated raising the statutory federal minimum wage from $ 7.25 per hour to $ 15. The revised version also raises the threshold for Americans ask for a $ 1,400 ransom check, which can only be claimed if the person’s annual salary is less than $ 75,000 and the couple’s annual income is less than $ 150,000. Experts said that this modification reduced the total amount of subsidies by about $ 15 billion.
According to the US CNBC website, the financial aid plan approved this time also includes: $ 14 billion in vaccination against COVID-19 and $ 46 billion for COVID-19 testing and tracking of infected people ; $ 350 billion in assistance to state and local governments; Provide $ 130 billion in aid for school reopening; $ 25 billion in aid for businesses affected by the epidemic.
Biden said in a speech on the approval of the economic bailout plan by the Senate, “This (process) is obviously not easy … but Americans urgently need (this plan).” It also announced that starting this month it will issue $ 1,400 in aid to eligible individuals. Former US President Barack Obama praised the bill’s passage on Twitter: “This kind of progress can only happen when we elect government leaders who are committed to improving people’s lives. This also reminds us why voting is so important. “
Bloomberg and other outlets commented that the passage of the second-largest economic stimulus plan in US history gave Biden the “first major legislative victory” after he took office, and also provided the basis for large-scale implementation. scale of Biden’s plan this spring. The Facility Construction and Manufacturing Assistance Act laid the foundation.
According to a statement released by House Majority Leader Hoyer, on the 6th, the House of Representatives will vote on the 9th. McConnell said Biden is expected to sign the aid bill before March 14. , that is, before the existing emergency unemployment assistance program expires. ▲
