The US Congress on Monday passed a US$900 billion pandemic relief package that would finally deliver cash to businesses and individuals, and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
US lawmakers tacked on a US$1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages of other end-of-session business in a massive bundle of bipartisan legislation as Capitol Hill prepared to close the books on the year.
The bill was sent to US President Donald Trump for his signature, which was expected in the coming days.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The relief package, unveiled on Monday afternoon, sped through the US House of Representatives and US Senate in a matter of hours.
The Senate cleared the massive package by a 92-6 vote after the House approved the package by a lopsided 359-53 vote.
The tallies were a bipartisan coda to months of partisanship and politicking as lawmakers wrangled over the relief question, a logjam that broke after US president-elect Joe Biden urged Democrats to accept a compromise with Republicans that was smaller than many would have liked.
The bill combines funds to fight the pandemic with financial relief for individuals and businesses. It would establish a temporary US$300 per week supplemental unemployment benefit and a US$600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, and money for schools, healthcare providers and tenants facing eviction.
The 5,593-page legislation — by far the longest US bill ever — came together on Sunday after months of battling, posturing and negotiating that reined in a number of Democratic demands as the end of the congressional session approached.
Biden was eager for a deal to deliver long-awaited help to suffering people and a boost to the economy, even though it was less than half the size that Democrats wanted.
“This deal is not everything I want — not by a long shot,” said US House of Representatives Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, a Democrat. “The choice before us is simple. It’s about whether we help families or not. It’s about whether we help small businesses and restaurants or not. It’s about whether we boost [food stamp] benefits and strengthen anti-hunger programs or not, and whether we help those dealing with a job loss or not. To me, this is not a tough call.”
US Congress also approved a one-week stopgap spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown and give Trump time to sign the sweeping legislation.
Democrats promised more aid to come once Biden takes office next month, but Republicans were signaling a wait-and-see approach.
The legislation followed a tortured path.
Democrats played hardball up until election day, amid accusations that they wanted to deny Trump a victory that might help him prevail. Democrats denied that, but their demands became more realistic after Trump’s loss and as Biden made it clear that half a loaf was better than none.
The final bill bore ample resemblance to a US$1 trillion package put together by US Senate Republican leaders in July, a proposal that at the time was scoffed at by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi as way too little.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a victory lap after blocking far more ambitious legislation from reaching the floor. He said the pragmatic approach of Biden was key.
“The president-elect suggesting that we needed to do something now was helpful in moving both Pelosi and [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer into a better place,” McConnell said. “My view about what comes next is let’s take a look at it. Happy to evaluate that based upon the needs that we confront in February and March.”
“Anyone who thinks this bill is enough hasn’t heard the desperation in the voices of their constituents, has not looked into the eyes of the small-business owner on the brink of ruin,” Schumer said.
US vice president-elect Kamala Harris went to the Senate to cast her vote for the bill.
“The American people need relief and I want to be able to do what I can to help them,” she said.
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