[ad_1]
The newly appointed Biden administration wants to spend a staggering $ 1.9 trillion fighting the pandemic. The support package includes everything from money for care and vaccines to comprehensive measures to accelerate the economy and support low- and middle-income people.
On Saturday morning, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the initiative with 219 votes in favor and 212 against. Negotiations now continue in the Senate, which is the second house of the United States Congress.
Money is in a hurry reach US citizens on time. In mid-March, the current subsidies to vulnerable households will be eliminated.
– No time to lose. If we act now, decisively, swiftly and boldly, we can finally gain an advantage against the virus and accelerate the economy again, Biden said in a White House comment on Saturday.
The Biden administration has the majority with the smallest possible margin: Democrats and Republicans each have 50 members, and Vice President Kamala Harris has the casting vote in the Senate. That may be enough because Democrats have chosen to push the support package as a kind of budget tightening, which can be achieved by simple majority. But then all Democrats must press the yes button, even center-right politicians like Sen. Joe Manchin, who have previously expressed some skepticism.
Certainly there are center-right politicians in the Republicans who sometimes run into the Democrats. After all, seven senators voted to oust Donald Trump on the Supreme Court. But if there’s one thing that unites all Republicans right now, it’s opposition to what they perceive as a waste of tax money. Republicans are also outraged that Democrats are using budget tightening techniques rather than trying to reach a cross-party solution.
There is a lot to say about it. for Joe Biden to fulfill an important electoral promise, while being accused of betraying another. His momentum after the change of power has not brought him one millimeter closer to the goal of broad cooperation in Congress. And the pandemic appears to remain a political problem.
Read more:
Biden’s covid package is approved in the House of Representatives
