There were only two Democrats who voted against the House version of the latest COVID-19 relief bill. It passed. But as the bill heads to Senate for consideration- significant questions remain.
The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package would send $1,400 checks to most Americans, hundreds of billions more to help schools, revive struggling businesses and provide financial support to state and local governments. All of those things were viewed as crucial components to keeping the economy ticking forward.
However, Republicans are aligning against it- even though they don’t have the votes to prevent it from becoming law. Their argument is that the efforts are not focused enough.
“I think that the Republicans’ misread here is that it is the same, or that they can just oppose it and there’s no ramifications,” John Anzalone, the Biden campaign’s chief pollster told the Associated Press. “It’s a different world.”
According to the AP, polling suggests that an overwhelming majority of voters- including Republicans- support the pandemic relief plan as proposed.
“We have no time to waste,” President Joe Biden said at the White House on Saturday. “We act now — decisively, quickly and boldly — we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again. People in this country have suffered far too much for too long.”
Related Reads:
- Republicans test history in vote against pandemic relief (AP)
- Biden hails House passage of $1.9T virus bill, now to Senate (AP)
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