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Biden victory as Congress passes huge Covid relief plan
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The US Congress passed Joe Biden’s
enormous economic relief package Wednesday, delivering a resounding victory
for the president and giving what he called a “fighting chance” to millions
of families and businesses suffering during the coronavirus pandemic.
The $1.9 trillion plan, months in the making, is one of the largest US
rescue packages ever. It will dramatically impact every aspect of the world’s
biggest economy for years to come while protecting and expanding the
country’s social safety net.
Democrats say they have met a historic moment of crisis head on, funneling
federal dollars into vaccine distribution, stimulus checks of up to $1,400 to
most Americans, extended unemployment benefits for millions and an expansion
of government funding for health care.
The measure only narrowly passed the House of Representatives by a 220-211
vote, with zero support from Republicans, who accuse Biden of abandoning his
Inauguration Day pledge to unify a divided nation.
But as Republicans stood in opposition, progressive and moderate Democrats
locked arms and marched the measure across the finish line days before
critical unemployment benefits were set to expire.
The bill now heads to the White House, where Biden — who made the
American Rescue Plan his top legislative priority — said he will sign the
measure into law on Friday.
“This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation — the
essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who
keep this country going — a fighting chance,” the president said in a post-
vote statement.
At a presentation with vaccine makers, Biden went on to call the bill a
“historic victory for the American people” and said “there’s a real reason
for hope” in beating back the pandemic.
– ‘Critical moment’ –
Minutes earlier, loud cheers and applause rose from the floor when House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared the measure passed.
“This is a critical moment in our country’s history,” the top
congressional Democrat said. “Help is on the way — for the people, for the
children.”
The bill extends eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, pours billions of
dollars into state and local governments, provides help for small businesses,
increases food aid and sets aside $130 billion for schools.
And Democrats argue that the bill’s child tax credit expansion would slash
child poverty by up to 50 percent.
But Republican lawmakers attacked what they called the bill’s “socialist
agenda” and massive cost, saying more than 90 percent does not go to directly
combatting Covid-19.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the plan “a long laundry list
of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs
of the American families.”
The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, savaged the bill as
“Democratic overreach in the name of Covid relief.”
“This is by far one of the worst pieces of legislation I’ve seen in the
Senate,” he said. The bill passed the upper chamber Saturday along strict
party lines.
Americans outside Washington appear to see it very differently, as polls
show overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill.
– Selling it –
Nevertheless, Biden is signaling that he will soon hit the road on a
mission to sell the package to the American people.
On Tuesday, Biden visited a business billed as Washington’s oldest
hardware store, which has benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program
begun under Donald Trump’s administration to help businesses stay afloat
during the crisis.
The administration is continuing the program, but Biden said it will be
tailored to focus on businesses with 20 employees or fewer.
The last congressional plan to fight the coronavirus, which has to date
left more than 528,000 dead in the United States and brought the economy to
its knees, was enacted in December.
It expanded unemployment payments and extended them through March 14.
That deadline has loomed as Biden and Democrats crafted their latest
package, but the new measure is set to extend the benefits until early
September.
Progressive Democrats had pushed for higher supplemental unemployment
benefits of $400, but after a last-minute standoff with a moderate Democrat,
the Senate kept the payments at $300 a week.
On Tuesday with the bill’s passage likely, the Paris-based Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development sharply raised its 2021 global
growth forecast amid greatly improved economic prospects.
It sees the US economy climbing by 6.5 percent this year, nearly double
its previous forecast.
BSS/AFP/FI/0848 hrs