Washington: House Democrats on Saturday passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill despite unanimous Republican opposition.
The COVID-19 relief bill — the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — passed at 2:01 a.m. by a 219-212 vote with 217 out of 219 Democrats voting in favor and no Republican support, the roll call shows.
Speaking from the White House on Saturday morning, President Joe Biden thanked members of the House for supporting the plan and said he hopes the Senate will quickly pass it as well.
“We have no time to waste. If we act now — decisively, quickly, and boldly — we can finally get ahead of this virus,” Biden said.
“We can finally get our economy moving again. And the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering. The American Rescue Plan does just that: It relieves the suffering. And it’s time to act.”
The relief includes $1,400 stimulus checks, extended federal unemployment compensation through August, $350 billion in recovery funds to state and local governments, territories and tribes, funding boost to increase capacity for vaccine distribution, food stamps, emergency housing assistance and schools.
