Maine Rep. Jared Golden was the only Democrat to vote no.
This is a breaking news update. An earlier version of this report is below.
President Joe Biden set out on Friday to quickly and without Republicans, if necessary, pay $ 1.9 trillion in coronavirus aid, armed with new signs of economic tension from the ongoing pandemic.
Stakes for the province and the economy were heightened Friday morning, shortly after Democrats in the Senate cast a decisive vote to get the plan through the chamber without Republican backing, a step toward final approval next month. The January jobs report found that the number of hires had stagnated at a pace that could hinder a return to full employment for several years – with 406,000 people choosing to leave the workforce as the number of deaths from the pandemic increased.
“A lot of people are losing hope,” Biden said in a speech at the White House. “I believe the American people are now looking to their government for help, to do our job, to not abandon them. So I’m going to act. I’m going to act quickly. I would like it with the support of Republicans. … they just aren’t willing to go as far as I think we should go. ”
The speech confirmed a shift from a president entering the White House pledging duality and meeting 10 Republican senators on Monday who proposed a slimmed-down $ 618 billion alternative. But Biden concluded in his speech on Friday that aid at that level would only lengthen the economic pain.
His comments came hours after the Senate approved a budget measure that would allow Democrats to pass the plan without Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the casting vote in the Senate, her first.
Senate Democrats applauded after Harris announced the 51-50 vote at around 5:30 a.m. The move came after a grueling nighttime session, during which senators voted on amendments that could shape the outline of the eventual COVID-19 support law.
The budget is now returning to Parliament, where it will likely be re-approved on Friday to reflect the changes made by the Senate. The measure can then work through the committees, so that the additional shelter can be completed by mid-March, when the additional unemployment and other pandemic aid ends. It’s an aggressive timeline that will test the new administration and Congress’s ability to deliver results.
“We are focused like a laser on getting this done,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after leading Democrats in the House met with Biden on Friday. “We hope to be able to put vaccines in people’s arms, money in people’s pockets, children safe in schools and workers at work. That’s what we’re doing now.”
The push for stimulus comes amid new signs of a weakening US economy. Employers added just 49,000 jobs in January, after cutting 227,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday. Restaurants, retailers, manufacturers and even healthcare shed workers last month, meaning private employers made a meager profit of 6,000 jobs last month.
“At that rate, it will take 10 years for us to reach full employment,” Biden said earlier Friday at an Oval Office meeting with House Democrats. That’s no exaggeration. That’s a fact.’
The unemployment rate fell from 6.7% to 6.3%, but there was a drop in the number of people working or looking for a job as a sign of some people leaving work. The US economy is 9.9 million jobs shy of the pre-pandemic level.
Biden, who has met with lawmakers in recent days to discuss the package, welcomed the leaders of the house committees that will draft the bill as part of the budget process known as “ reconciliation. ” Money for vaccine distribution, direct payments to households, reopening schools and business help are at stake.
The size of the package is of concern to several Republican lawmakers and some economists. Larry Summers, a former Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration, said in a column for The Washington Post that the $ 1.9 trillion package was three times the expected economic deficit. A separate analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model found that the plan would do little to boost growth relative to its size.
The Marathon Senate session produced test votes on several Democratic priorities, including a $ 15 minimum wage. The Senate voted to pass an amendment from Sen. pandemic. Ernst said a pay rise would be “devastating” for small businesses at this point.
The Senate also passed amendment 99-1 that would prevent the $ 1,400 in direct checks in Biden’s proposal from going to “higher-income taxpayers.” But the measure, led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Manchin, West Virginia, is ultimately symbolic and non-binding and does not state the level of someone’s eligibility for higher income.
And while Biden seemed willing to break with Republicans in his speech, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters afterwards that the Senate-approved reconciliation process still allows for duality.
“The process provides time for negotiations through committee work,” said Psaki. “We are certainly hopeful that there will be opportunities for amendments from Republicans, amendments from others across the board to be a part of this process.”
Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2021 WLS-TV. All rights reserved.