Topline
President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan will face its final hurdle in Congress this week.
President Joe Biden speaks from the State Dining Room following the passage of the American Rescue … [+]
Key Facts
The House of Representatives is slated to vote on the package one last time on Tuesday to approve the changes the Senate made when it approved the bill on Saturday.
Those changes include removing a provision to raise the national minimum wage to $15, tightening the eligibility requirements for the $1,400 direct payments the bill will authorize and trimming the weekly federal unemployment supplement from $400 to $300.
The bill is widely expected to pass despite Democrats’ narrow majority in the House, and then Biden will be able to sign it into law.
Lawmakers have been operating under a deadline to finalize the bill and have Biden sign it before March 14, when the $300 weekly federal unemployment supplement authorized by the last stimulus bill is set to expire.
Crucial Quote
“This plan puts us on the path to beating the virus,” Biden said Saturday after the legislation passed the Senate following a grueling legislative session that lasted more than 24 hours. “This plan gives those families who are struggling the most the help and the breathing room they need to get through this moment. This plan gives small businesses in this country a fighting chance to survive.”
Key Background
Once Biden signs it, the American Rescue Plan will be the sixth federal rescue package signed into law since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States last year. The largest of those was the $2.1 trillion CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Trump last March. The CARES Act authorized the first round of stimulus checks of $1,200 per person, the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, the first round of enhanced federal unemployment benefits at $600 per week and a number of other major relief programs. It was preceded by two significantly smaller bills and followed by an “interim” bill in April that replenished the PPP after it exhausted its first round of CARES Act funding. The most recent stimulus bill, which authorized another round of direct payments at $600 per person and re-upped federal unemployment benefits that expired months earlier, was enacted just after Christmas last year.
What To Watch For
Biden and Democrats will turn their attention to another massive spending bill after the American Rescue Plan is enacted, this time focused on infrastructure and green energy.
Further Reading
Sen. Manchin Defends Lowering Weekly Unemployment To $300 In New Stimulus Bill (Forbes)
Senate Passes Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Covid-19 Relief Bill: $1,400 Stimulus Checks, $300 Weekly Unemployment, Child Tax Credit And More (Forbes)
