Washington Washington – The Senate approved President Biden 91.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday, 24 hours after the opening on the bill. An intrusive reform process called “Vote-a-Rama” stalled for about 12 hours on Friday due to disagreements in the Democratic caucus over unemployment insurance benefits.
The final vote was ocra0–49, with all Democrats voting in favor of the bill and all Republicans voting against it. The passage of the bill was met with applause and applause from Democrats, who celebrated Mr. Biden’s passing as one of his top priorities. Vice President Kamala Harris did not need to visit the Capitol to sever ties, as GOP Senator Dan Sullivan left on Friday due to a family crisis.
Democrats took the wrong victory after the bill was passed, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer telling reporters after the vote that “this is a great day for the country.” Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, called the bill “the most significant piece of legislation to benefit working families in the modern history of this country.”
President Biden called the plan “historic” during a speech on Saturday.
“For more than a year the American people have been told they were themselves,” and then added, “this nation has suffered so much for so long, and everything in this package is designed to alleviate and meet the pain.” The nation has the most urgent needs. “
The president noted that 85% of American households will soon receive direct payments of 4 1,400 per person, and “typical middle-class families of four” will receive $ 5,600. “It means the mortgage can be paid. It means maintaining the health insurance you have. It will make a big difference in so many lives in this country.”
Senator Debbie Stebano said the passage of the bill was an emotional moment for Democrats.
“People on the floor, in our ca caus, it was almost like tears in their eyes. I mean, I felt it,” Stebano said.
The House will vote on the amended law on Tuesday after the House passed a slightly different version of the bill last week. If it is approved by the House, it will then go to Mr. Biden’s desk for his signature. Schumer expressed confidence that the Senate version of the bill would pass the House.
“They think we do, we have to do this,” he said.
The economic relief law is widely popular, with recent polls showing that most Americans support it, especially the provisions that provide Direct 1,400 direct checks To those earning ,000 75,000. Senate Democrats reached a deal Limit eligibility Who gets a direct check earlier this week? Other provisions of the bill include an additional 300 weekly unemployment benefits as of September, a child allowance of up to 600,000 per family, billion 1 billion in assistance to state and local governments, and ૧ 1 billion in vaccine distribution.
Mr Biden thanked the American people for the “overwhelming bilateral support” for his package, without which “this would not have happened,” he said.
The final vote came after a difficult “vote-a-Rama” in which the Senate debated, considered and voted on 39 amendments over a 25-hour period. The process was initially delayed by an interval involving West Virginia Central Senator J Manchin, who became a decisive player in an evenly divided Senate.
On Friday evening, Senate Democrats reached a deal approved by Manchin, after which he held an extended meeting with Schumer. The settlement reform increased unemployment benefits until September, the first $ 10,200 benefits of unemployment insurance will not be non-taxable for families with less than $ 150,000, and extends tax rules on additional business loss limits until 2026.
The settlement amendment, approved by a vote of 50 to 49 after 1 a.m., was similar to the proposed amendment under the deal reached by progressives and moderators on Friday morning, the only change in the income limit for non-taxable benefits.
Mr Biden emphasized in his speech on Saturday that the deal had increased aid to 11 million Americans who had lost their jobs due to the epidemic – and whose benefits were “about to expire”.
Manchin has taken on the powerful role of caucus because it is one of the decisive votes in an evenly divided Senate. Democrats have 0 seats, which means there is no room for disagreement in the ranks: losing the support of a single senator means losing the vote overall. On Friday, Manchin appeared to be leaning towards the reform introduced by Senator Rob Portman of the GOP, which would have cut unemployment insurance benefits from અને 400 to $ 300 and only increased them until June.
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“Vote-a-Rama” initially began with a failed vote on an amendment suggested by Senator Bernie Sanders on Friday morning that would have raised the federal minimum wage.. But the vote remained open even after all senators voted, preventing subsequent reforms from being considered and persuading Manchin to support his unemployment insurance benefit reform to allow Democrats to work behind the scenes.
About 12 hours later, the vote on Sanders’ amendment closed shortly before 11 a.m., making it the longest vote in modern Senate history. “Vote-a-Rama” resumed shortly after midnight with a vote on Portman’s unemployment insurance benefit reform backed by Manchin. However, that amendment will be repealed by the Democratic Amendment, which was voted on a few hours later and which was also supported by Manchin. This compromise amendment will be included in the final bill.
Manchin admitted to reporters after the final vote on the bill on Saturday afternoon that negotiations “take longer than him,” but expressed satisfaction with the final bill.
“We got it done and we got a better deal,” Manchin said.
The Senate was called to a two-hour debate on Friday morning, after which Sanders’ amendment was voted on, raising the unchanged minimum wage to per 15 per hour by 2025, and raising the minimum wage to ડ 14.75 in seven years. Member of the Senate Ruled last week The Senate cannot include a provision to raise the minimum wage to 15 15 under the Budget Reconciliation Rules, so GOP Senator Lindsay Graham raised an issue challenging the amendment.
Manchin, as well as Democratic senators John Tester, Jeanne Shaheen, Kirsten Cinema, Chris Kuns, Tom Carper and Maggie Hassan, joined Republicans in the vote to allow the provisions to be included. Senator Angus King, an independent who consulted with Democrats, also voted against adding a minimum wage increase to the bill. Manchin and Cinema in particular had earlier protested against raising the minimum wage to Rs 15 lakh.
Congress is using the budget compromise process to pass a bill that limits time for debate and allows legislation to be passed with a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote threshold that most bills need to pass in the Senate. If every Democrat supports the final bill, it will pass without any Republican support.
But Republicans criticize the size of the bill and are frustrated that Democrats are using the compromise process, arguing that they are taking a partisan approach rather than working side by side. Democrats respond that they don’t need to waste time negotiating with Republicans to reach the 60-vote threshold and pass a smaller package.
Republican senators, in turn, aimed to make the reform process politically painful for Democrats, with mixed results. One such vote was on an amendment to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving stimulus checks. Meanwhile “What-a-Rama” last month On a budget resolution determining the compromise process, eight Democrats, provoking progressives, joined all Republicans in a vote for reform. However, when the Senate voted on the amendment on Saturday morning, it failed without any democratic support.
The Senate approved two amendments by voice vote, one on veterans education and one to help homeless children. The latter amendment was proposed by GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski and Manchin, and will provide funding 800 billion in funding, especially for homeless children. The final amendment considered during “Vote-a-Rama” was a bilateral amendment, sponsored by GOP Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Mark Warner, that extended the defense for federal contractors until September 30.
The Senate version of the bill differs from the House bill in a number of ways, including amendments passed on Friday and Saturday. Some recent additional measures, according to the Senate Democratic Aid, include 5 10,510 million for FEMA and 5 50,550 million for states and communities affected by job and revenue losses in the tourism, travel and outdoor recreation sectors. The second provision sets aside funds for education, including 25 1.2 for evidence-based summer prosperity. ૨ 1.25 billion after school programs and billion 1 billion for education technology. It will make COVID-19 student loan relief tax-free.
Harris broke the 0-50 tie on Thursday afternoon in a party-line vote on the pace of the debate on the law. However, before “Vote-a-Rama” the budget compromise rules allow for 20 hours of discussion, “Republicans and Democrats used only two, then GOP Senator Ron Johnson to read the entire bill aloud to Senate Clark on Thursday evening.” The process, which ended early Friday morning, took about 11 hours.The Senate agreed to call for a three-hour debate on Friday morning, but quickly saved any time saved by limiting the discussion time to a 12-hour delay on unemployment insurance reform. Was lost.
“The main thing is this: this plan keeps us on track to defeat this virus,” Mr. Biden said Saturday. “The scheme helps those families and they get a lot of help for the need to go through this moment and get a breathing room. The scheme gives small businesses in this country a fight to survive. And one thing,” he added, “The scheme is historic. “
Jack Terman and Rey McNamara contributed to the report.
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