BREAKING: House Passes Senate Version of $1.9T COVID-19 Relief Bill
The bill will now head to the White House for President Biden's signature
Millions of Americans are now a presidential signature away from getting more money in their pockets.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Senate’s version of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. The final vote was 220-211, with all but one Democrat voting to send the bill to the President’s desk. House Democrats applauded the bill’s passage after the gavel came down.
The vote gives President Biden his first big legislative victory since taking office. But despite his campaign promise to work with Republicans, the bill did not receive a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate. But his Administration has continued to tout the bill as bipartisan because of its popularity among Republicans in public polling. A recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found that 59% of Republican voters supported the bill, while 35% oppose it.
Senate Changes
The House had previously approved its own version of the bill, but it underwent several modifications in the Senate. Most Americans will still receive the $1,400 stimulus checks, but payments will be phased out for Americans who earn more than $80,000 a year and couples who earn more than $160,000 a year. This will result in 17 million fewer Americans receiving checks than initially proposed. If you would like to see if you are still eligible for a check, click here.
The House version also included a provision that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. That was removed from the bill by the Senate parliamentarian, who said that it did not properly follow Senate procedures. Sen. Bernie Sanders forced a vote on the minimum wage increase, but 8 Democratic Senators voted against it.
Unemployment benefits were also amended in the Senate version. While they have been extended through the month of September, weekly benefits will remain at $300 per week. House Democrats attempted to increase benefits to $400 per week.
The bill will also direct billions in funding to vaccine distribution and COVID-19 testing, expand the child tax credit, increase subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and provide funding for local governments and school districts. More details about what’s in the bill can be found here.
“Thank God for Georgia”
Georgia Democrats praised the bill in a press conference on Wednesday morning. Sen. Raphael Warnock reminded reporters that this bill would not have been possible if he and Sen. Jon Ossoff had not been elected on January 5.
“I just want to say thank God for Georgia. The nation is in a very different place than it would be if Georgia had not stood up and made the historic decision to send Jon Ossoff and me to the United States Senate. Georgia is better off, the whole nation is better off.”
- Sen. Raphael Warnock
Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, who represents the Gwinnett-based 7th District, said that the bill is about “saving lives and livelihoods.” She noted that healthcare was a huge issue on the campaign trail last year and that the most important provisions in the bill have to do with access to health insurance. Rep. Lucy McBath, who represents the suburban 6th District, discussed the urgency to get children back into classrooms and noted that the bill will help speed up vaccine distribution.
“We should do everything to stop it”
While the COVID-19 relief bill has received high praise from Georgia Democrats, their Republican counterparts have been some of the most vocal critics of the bill. Controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Northwest Georgia forced a motion to adjourn the House session and called the bill a “massive woke progressive Democrat wish list.”
Southeast Georgia Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter spoke out against the bill on the House floor. He said that the House has already passed more than $3 trillion in COVID-19 relief and that the country is overcoming the pandemic. He also said that less than 10% of the bill’s funding actually addresses the pandemic. “The only thing bipartisan about this bill has been the opposition to it,” he said.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has also criticized the bill, calling it a “Blue State Bailout.” After it passed the House, he criticized Georgia’s congressional Democrats for voting to “send $1.3 billion less” to Georgia than previous stimulus bills. “Instead of using allocation formulas that enjoyed bipartisan support and provided funds based on population, this legislation rewards lockdown states with high unemployment rates,” he continued.
When will you get your check?
CNN has learned that President Biden will be signing the bill into law on Friday. As soon as it is signed, direct payments will begin going out to most Americans almost immediately. The White House has said that most Americans should receive their payments by the end of March. Unemployment Americans, who were set to stop receiving benefits this month, will now continue receiving benefits through September.