House Majority Approves $1.9 Trillion Virus Relief Bill in Early Win for Biden
House Democrats had enough votes on Wednesday to give final approval to President Biden’s sweeping, nearly $1.9 trillion stimulus package, as they acted over Republican opposition to push through an emergency pandemic aid plan that included a vast expansion of the country’s social safety net.
With votes still being cast, a majority of 217 lawmakers had voted to pass the measure and clear it for Mr. Biden’s signature, cementing one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great Depression. Mr. Biden is expected to sign the bill Friday.
It would provide another round of direct payments for many Americans, an extension of federal jobless benefits and billions of dollars to distribute coronavirus vaccines and provide relief for schools, states, tribal governments and small businesses struggling during the pandemic.
The vote was the culmination of a swift push by Mr. Biden and Democrats, newly in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, to address the toll of the pandemic and begin putting in place their broader economic agenda. It includes a set of measures that is estimated to slash poverty by a third this year and potentially cut child poverty in half, including expansions of tax credits, food aid and rental and mortgage assistance.