The House passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus on Wednesday on a party line vote.
House Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan on a 220-211 vote. No Republicans voted in favor. One Democrat voted against the bill: Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
The American Rescue Plan provides $1,400 direct payments to individuals making up to $75,000 annually, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments and $14 billion for vaccine distribution. The bill also provides $130 billion to elementary, middle and high schools to assist with safe reopening.
It includes $300 billion in weekly jobless benefits through September and an expanded tax credit of up to $3,600 per child. There’s also $50 billion for small businesses, including $7 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill also provides $25 billion for relief for small and mid-sized restaurants, which have suffered significantly during the pandemic. $48 billion for COVID-19 testing and tracing and $7.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine distribution efforts.
Press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that President Biden will sign the bill on Friday and many Americans will start receiving their stimulus checks by the end of the month.
“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,” President Biden said in a statement after the bill’s passage.
