House Passes $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Package

House Passes $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Package

The U.S House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package on a 219-212 vote early Saturday morning, sending it to the Senate.

The vote included $1,400 cash payments for many Americans, a national vaccination program, ramped-up COVID testing and contact tracing, state and local funding and money to help schools reopen. 

Two Democrats, Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon, joined Republicans in voting against the bill.

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“The bill will likely undergo an overhaul in the upper chamber after the Senate parliamentarian ruled the $15 minimum wage increase cannot be added in the relief package,” reported Axios. “The House kept the minimum wage increase in its plan, but that was mainly to keep progressive Democrats on board before it gets stripped out in the Senate.”

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders at a press conference Friday insisted they are not worried that progressive Democrats might not vote for a final bill with any Senate changes,” Axios continued. 

The $1,400 stimulus payments are for Americans making less than $75,000. Individuals who make between $75,000 and $100,000 would receive less, with a cap for those earning more than $100,000.

The package also included $350 billion in state and local aid; $25 billion in aid to restaurants and other food and drinking establishments; $19 billion in emergency rental assistance; $7.25 billion in funds for Paycheck Protection Program loans; and unemployment benefits would be extended until August 29, and the supplemental benefits would increase from $300 to $400.