Tag: Biden COVID-19 relief bill

As Job Growth Doubles, Republicans Insist Biden ‘Failed’

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House Republicans spent Friday morning attacking President Joe Biden over the latest jobs numbers, suggesting the figures, which were slightly lower than predicted, constituted a failure.

The U.S. economy in fact added 559,000 jobs in May — more than double the number added the month before. The improving employment data comes as new unemployment claims have dropped to new pandemic lows in recent weeks, in the wake of Biden’s American Rescue Plan and a successful COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Though the new job totals were slightly below the economists’ predictions of around 650,000 new jobs, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent — better than those same economists’ 5.9 percent expectation. Continue reading.

New Stimulus Package Brings Big Benefits to the Middle Class

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Be it child care or health care, an array of tax changes and subsidies makes the $1.9 trillion relief legislation more than a lifeline for the poor.

WASHINGTON — The economic relief plan that is headed to President Biden’s desk has been billed as the United States’ most ambitious antipoverty initiative in a generation. But inside the $1.9 trillion package, there are plenty of perks for the middle class, too.

Whether they are direct stimulus payments, an array of tax benefits or an expansion of the Affordable Care Act, the bill will bring a big economic lift to middle-income families. In some cases, those households will have weathered the pandemic relatively unscathed, and those who are concerned about the cost of the legislation have suggested that the definition of middle class has expanded to include families who are actually well-off.

An analysis by the Tax Policy Center published this week estimated that middle-income families, those making $51,000 to $91,000 per year, will see their after-tax income rise by 5.5 percent as a result of the tax changes and stimulus payments in the legislation. The increase for that income group is about twice as generous as what it received after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Continue reading.

Here’s what’s in the $1.9T COVID-19 relief package

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President Biden is on the precipice of the biggest legislative win so far in his time in office: the signing of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package the House is expected to approve Wednesday.

The package is highlighted by the $1,400 direct payments to be sent to millions of households, an extension of unemployment benefits and funding for vaccine distribution.

But it includes much more than those provisions. Here’s a look at what else is in the bill. Continue reading.

Senate votes to take up COVID-19 relief bill

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Senate Democrats voted on Thursday to take up a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill, teeing off what’s expected to be a days-long sprint to pass the legislation. 

The Senate voted 50-50 to proceed to the coronavirus relief legislation, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie to advance the bill. 

“The Senate is going to move forward with the bill. No matter how long it takes, the Senate is going to stay in session to finish the bill this week,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said from the Senate floor on Thursday ahead of the vote.  Continue reading.

Senate Democrats approve budget resolution, teeing up coronavirus bill

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Senate Democrats approved a budget resolution early Friday morning that will allow them to pass coronavirus relief without GOP support.

The budget passed the Senate in a 50-50 party-line vote, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie. Because senators made changes to the resolution, it now bounces back to the House, where lawmakers will need to pass it for a second time as soon as Friday.

The budget resolution doesn’t get signed into law, but it’s the first step for being able to pass a subsequent coronavirus relief bill that can bypass the 60-vote legislative filibuster in the Senate. Continue reading.

Senate GOP laying amendment traps for budget debate

‘Vote-a-rama’ mostly for messaging purposes, but could drag out into the wee hours of Friday morning

Senate Republicans began arming themselves with a slew of amendments Wednesday to slow down work on a budget resolution that Democrats need to produce a filibuster-free pandemic relief package.

Laying the groundwork for a prolonged “vote-a-rama” on the Senate floor this week, Republicans filed over 400 amendments by Wednesday evening as they protested a Democratic decision to use the budget reconciliation process to skirt GOP opposition.

“Senate Republicans will be ready and waiting with a host of amendments to improve the rushed procedural step that’s being jammed through,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in floor remarks earlier in the day. Continue reading.

GOP relief plan would not return economy to pre-pandemic levels: study

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The COVID-19 relief proposal put forth by a group of 10 Senate Republicans would not return the U.S. economy to pre-pandemic levels, according to a study released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution.

The same study found that President Biden’s relief plan would boost growth to rates seen before the pandemic took hold.

Researchers at Brookings analyzed both the $618 billion GOP proposal and Biden’s $1.9 trillion pitch and found that the Republican plan would boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.6 percent in the last quarter of this year and 0.8 percent in the same three-month period of 2022, a significant boost over current estimates. Continue reading.

House Democrats clear path for Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill

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NOTE: This article is provided free for all to read by The Washington Post.

Democratic legislators paved the way Wednesday evening for a party-line approval of President Biden’s anticipated $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

The House vote cleared the path for the Senate to pass the relief package with a simple majority, which is likely to take place later in the week and would allow Democrats to write the bill into law and ultimately pass it without the need for Republican votes.

The plan includes a wide range of actions, including $1,400 checks, extended unemployment benefits and an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as funneling $160 billion for vaccines and testing. Continue reading.

DFL Party Statement on GOP “Vote A Rama”


ST PAUL, MINNESOTA – As Republicans in the Senate play partisan games with COVID relief, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“Over 460,000 Minnesotans have tested positive for COVID-19 and thousands more have struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic; relief cannot come soon enough. But rather than fight to help small businesses, reopen schools, and invest in vaccine distribution, Republicans in the Senate are creating a circus. This ‘vote a rama’ is nothing more than political theater when the American people are demanding action. Minnesotans won’t forget which party had their backs in a time of crisis.” 

West Virginia’s GOP Governor Urges Passage Of Biden’s Covid-19 Relief Bill

West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Monday endorsed a large economic stimulus bill, arguing that federal lawmakers have “got to move” on legislation.

In an interview with CNN host Poppy Harlow, Justice said he sided with approving Biden’s package over waiting for a “bipartisan bill” with less money, saying GOP efforts to trim down the bill were ill-timed.

“What we need to do is we need to understand that trying to be, per se, fiscally responsible at this point in time, with what we’ve got going on in this country … if we actually throw away some money right now, so what?” Justice said. Continue reading.