After a marathon session The Senate early approved a budget bill on Friday pave the way for President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion aid package to be approved. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaker vote as it will be key to the implementation of Biden’s first major legislative initiative.
Approval of the budget bill came shortly after 5:30 a.m. on Friday, following an extremely long all-night Senate session in which senators discussed dozens of amendments in a chaotic legislative process.
Democrats welcomed progress on measures to address the pandemic, while Republicans complained about bias and over-spending included in the bill.
Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Committee on Budgets, stressed that with the passing of the bill, it will be possible to cope not only with the pandemic but also the economic collapse and the reality that millions of children have seen his education. interrupted. “
Republican senators argue against the initiative that after spending $ 4 billion on fighting the pandemic, it was not necessary to spend another $ 2 billion.
“Now is not the time to spend trillions of dollars more to make perpetual closure and economic downturn a little more pleasant,” lamented Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who accused Democrats of “using this budget. False to set the table for its $ 1.9 trillion design approved. “
The House of Representatives, which approved its own budget bill on Wednesday, must now act on the version of the Senate, which is expected to happen in one day.
With this move, Congress can now focus on drafting Biden’s comprehensive pandemic aid proposal, sending it through the Senate without a Republican vote if necessary, under special rules unlocked by budget laws.
This process will take weeks, and Democrats have a deadline for final approval of the aid bill in mid-March, as improved unemployment benefits expire on that date if Congress doesn’t act first.
Some dual claims
Despite the super tight final vote, the process revealed a two-pronged consensus. One of the most important amendments came from a bipartisan group of senators, led by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Susan Collins, who would prevent “high-income taxpayers” from receiving $ 1,400 support checks.
While the amendment was passed by 99 votes to 1, it is not binding and does not mean that the eligibility requirements will be changed in the final coronavirus support bill.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst has proposed an amendment to prevent the minimum wage from being raised to $ 15 an hour during the pandemic, a measure Democrats want to include in the Covid-19 bill. However, more centrist Democrats, such as Manchin, prefer the raise to be more modest.
Ahead of the roll-call vote, Senator Sanders, a proponent of the $ 15 minimum wage, stepped in and said his proposal would be implemented gradually over five years, and not immediately as Ernst had formulated in his amendment. His amendment was quickly approved unanimously.
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