House Democrats have passed their massive $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package in a party line vote early Saturday morning President Biden
Joe Biden Biden ‘disappointed’ in Senate parliamentary ruling but ‘respects’ decision Taylor Swift celebrates passage of Donald Trump Jr. calls Bruce Springsteen’s dropped charges ‘liberal privilege’ MOREhighest legislative priority.
Lawmakers passed bill 219-212, with two Democrats – Representatives Jared Golden (Maine) and Kurt Schrader
Walter (Kurt) Kurt Schrader House Democrats Hold Minimum Wage Hike In COVID-19 Relief Bill For Friday Vote Democrats Undergo Unity Test On Biden .9T Bill Senate Democrats Will Likely Undergo Major Unity Test On Budget 2022 MORE (Ore.) – Joins all Republicans to vote against. Democrats could afford only four dropouts with their small majority in the House.
The bill comes days after the COVID-19 death toll in the US exceeded 500,000 people, as more contagious virus variants remain a threat to controlling the pandemic.
Lawmakers hope to build on the momentum of vaccines gradually reaching people to end the global pandemic that has shaken American life for most of the past year.
The aid package is now going to the Senate, where Democrats are expected to amend it next week and return it to the House for approval before unemployment insurance benefits expire on March 14.
The legislation, which is modeled on Biden’s proposal, includes provisions to provide a third round of direct incentive checks of up to $ 1,400 for individuals, weekly unemployment insurance of $ 400 through August 29, and $ 8.5 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control. and Prevention (CDC) to disseminate, detect and promote public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.
The direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for individuals or $ 2,800 for married couples are the largest pandemic impact payments to date, after the two previous rounds topped $ 1,200 and $ 600 last year.
Individuals with incomes up to $ 75,000 and married couples earning up to $ 150,000 would be eligible for the full amounts, while payments would gradually disappear for individuals earning up to $ 100,000 or $ 200,000 for couples.
Other key pieces of the massive package include $ 350 billion to state and local governments, $ 130 billion to help reopen elementary schools to face-to-face classroom education, and an extension of the child discount to $ 3,000 per child or $ 3,600 for children under six year. age.
But one element of the bill the House passed early on Saturday is doomed to remain on the cutting room floor once it reaches the Senate: an increase in the federal minimum wage from the current $ 7.25 an hour to $ 15.
The Senate MP on Thursday ruled that the minimum wage increase would not meet the budgetary rules needed to pass bills as part of the reconciliation process, which the Democrats are using to ensure their pandemic aid package is not subject to a GOP -filibuster in the upper chamber. .
House Democrats chose to keep the minimum wage on the bill as a token of support for the highest progressive priority.
“Even if it is unthinkable for some, it is inevitable for us. And we will work diligently to reduce the distance between the inevitable and the unimaginable, ”Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi – Minimum wage cut revives progressive calls to Nix Senate Filibuster House Democrats to maintain minimum wage hike in COVID-19 relief law for Friday vote Schiff sees challenges facing intelligence commission, community in Trump’s shadow MORE (D-Calif.) Said about raising wages.
The push to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 was met with a sharp pullback from Republicans and a handful of centrist Democratic lawmakers, who quoted a Congressional Budget Office report that estimated that while it would lift 900,000 people out of poverty, it would also lead to 1.4 million jobs lost.
Only one sitting House Democrat, Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Voted against a bill in 2019 to raise the minimum wage to $ 15. Although Schrader’s preference for a regionally adjusted minimum wage over a federal statute of $ 15 raised the outlook for the aid package in Parliament, it is a more delicate balance for the Democrats’ 50-50 position in the Senate.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) Manchin Minimum wage cut raises progressive calls to Nix Senate filibuster Biden ‘disappointed’ in Senate parliamentary ruling, but ‘respects’ House Democrats’ decision to keep minimum wage hike in COVID-19 emergency law for Friday vote MORE (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) Were both opposed to including the $ 15 minimum wage as part of the COVID-19 aid package. Manchin has called for the minimum wage to be raised to $ 11 an hour, arguing it’s a more reasonable level for a state like West Virginia.
Democrats weigh proposals from Sens. Ron Wyden
Nominee Ronald (Ron) Lee Wyden Biden previews post-Trump trade agenda Labor expands jobless aid for workers refusing employers to violate COVID-19 rules Democrats hesitate to impose taxes amid pandemic MORE (Ore.) And Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders House Democrats Hold Minimum Wage Hike in COVID-19 Relief Law for Friday Vote Sanders Condemns Parliamentary Decision on Minimum Wage Parliamentarian Nixes Minimum Wage Hike in Coronavirus Law MORE (I-Vt.) Who impose fines on big companies that don’t pay their employees at least $ 15 an hour and incentivize small businesses to increase workers’ wages.
A senior Democratic assistant said Friday that the senate leader has majorities Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerHillicon Valley: Biden signs order on chips | Hearing on Misinformation in the Media | Facebook’s deal with Australia | CIA Nominee at SolarWinds House Rules Releases New Text of COVID-19 Embossed Bill Budowsky: Cruz Goes to Cancun, AOC Goes to Texas MORE (DN.Y.) is considering adding such a provision to the aid package, while the top House Democrats were still noncommittal on the idea.
Leader of minorities in the house Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthySchiff sees challenges facing intelligence committee, community in Trump’s shadow Cruz hires Trump campaign press officer as communications director Conservatives chasing Cheney for Trump CPAC comments MORE (R-Calif.) Meanwhile called the fiscal stimulus proposal “stupid” and wondered why the minimum wage and other provisions were tied to a bill regarding coronavirus relief.
“The swamp is back,” McCarthy said on the floor of the house during the debate. “To my colleagues who say that this bill is bold, I say it is bloated. To those who say it is urgent, I say it is unfocused. To those who say it is popular, I say it is completely biased. It has the wrong priorities. “
The final vote on the pandemic aid package didn’t take place until well after midnight on Saturday, as Republicans delayed the proceedings by several hours by speaking to the House Rules Committee on the more than 200 amendments they had tabled to the bill.
None of the GOP amendments, which ranged from scrapping the minimum wage bill to requiring K-12 schools to have personal education reopening plans to access full funding, were given speaking time.
It’s possible Democrats could pass a separate bill to raise the minimum wage, but it would be subject to a 60-vote threshold to clear a GOP filibuster from the Senate.
“ I guarantee there will be an increase in the minimum wage before the election, ” said the chairman of the House Budget Committee John Yarmuth
John Allen YarmuthDemocrats Call For Aid Package To Forgo Taxes On Unemployment Benefits Democrats In Deadlock Over Minimum Wage On The Money: Neera Tanden’s Nomination At Risk After Three GOP Noes | Trump rages after SCOTUS rules MORE about financial data (D-Ky.) Told reporters at the Capitol. “Hold on to it.”
Progressive parties are calling on Vice President Harris, the president of the Senate, to override the MP’s advice or the Democrats to abolish the filibuster to ensure that the campaign promise of a minimum wage increase can eventually be transposed under Biden.
So it’s not just about the minimum wage, because Democrats have promised a lot in winning the House, the Senate, and the White House. And it will come back again and again. So we will have to make a choice here. Are we going to stick to these rules or are we actually going to use government levers to work for the people? Said Chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Pramila Jayapal
Pramila JayapalBiden ‘disappointed’ in Senate parliamentary ruling but ‘respects’ House Democrats decision to maintain minimum wage hike in COVID-19 emergency proposal for Friday vote Bill would scrap retirement for president convicted of felony (D-Wash.).
“For me that is not radical – it is government.”