The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill around 1 AM on Saturday morning.
The bill, called the American Rescue Plan, includes $1,400 in direct checks for Americans making under $75,000, a $400 per week supplemental unemployment bonus, money for vaccine distribution, and funding to aid schools and state and local governments.
The bill now gets sent to the 50-50 split U.S. Senate, where VP Harris is expected to be the tie-breaking vote.
This bill would send a new round of emergency financial aid to households that includes $1,400 stimulus checks and an expanded child tax credit, as well as aid to small businesses and state and local governments.
Two Democrats, Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine, voted with the Republicans in the 219-212 vote. Not one Republican voted for the bill.
“The need is great. The opportunity is there,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters.
This bill also includes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, even though the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the bill could not include an increase of the federal minimum wage.
Last week, U.S. Senator Scott (R-Fl) said, “Sadly, over the past two years that I’ve been in Washington, I’ve realized that while many politicians make promises to uphold these values, very few put their words into practice. It’s no wonder, then, that our national debt continues to grow out of control.”
He also noted the national debt is a “massive and unsustainable” $27 trillion.
“America is in a debt crisis. We need to start talking about it and taking decisive action to reverse course. That’s why every time I’m faced with the question of spending taxpayer dollars on government programs, I ask myself some simple, yet important, questions,” said Scott.