The Senate passed Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill | CNN Politics (2024)

The $1.9 trillion coronavirus package passed by the Senate contains a wide range of proposals to help Americans still struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic.

The legislation differs in at least three major ways from the bill that passed the House of Representatives last week. The final Senate package will have to be approved again by the House before it can be sent to President Biden for his signature.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House will vote Monday night on the rule laying out terms for the bill’s consideration, and the House will vote on Tuesday on the Senate-passed version of the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he has “no doubt” Biden will sign the American Rescue Plan before the March 14 deadline.

Here’s how Americans could benefit from the Senate bill:

Who is out of luck? Workers being paid at or just above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour will not see a boost in pay. The Senate parliamentarian ruled in late February that increasing the hourly threshold to $15 does not meet a strict set of guidelines needed to move forward in the reconciliation process, which would allow Senate Democrats to pass the relief bill with a simple majority and no Republican votes.

Former President Barack Obama congratulated President Biden on the successful passage of the Covid-19 relief bill through the Senate, calling it “a reminder of why it’s so important to vote.”

“Elections matter — and we’re seeing why,” Obama said in a series of tweets following the Senate vote to approve the $1.9 trillion bill.

Following remarks from the State Dining room on the recently passed $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package, President Biden responded to the idea that progressives may be frustrated with compromises in the bill that led to its passage.

“They’re not frustrated,” Biden said Saturday. “Bernie Sanders said this is the most progressive bill he’s ever seen passed in history, since he’s been there, and the compromises were all compromises that didn’t affect the substance and the essence of what the bill is.”

In a tweet Saturday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote, “The American Rescue Plan is the most significant piece of legislation to benefit working people in the modern history of this country.”

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, March 5, in Washington, DC.

President Biden said the Senate passing his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill is a “giant step forward” to providing relief to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“When we took office45 days ago, I promised theAmerican people help was on theway. Today I can say we’ve taken onemore giant step forward ondelivering on that promise — thathelp is on the way,” Biden said.

He thanked Vice President Kamala Harris and senators “who worked so hard to reach a compromise.”

Biden thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in particular for his leadership.

“I’ve never seen anyone work asskillfully, as ably, aspatiently, with determination todeliver such a consequentialpiece of legislation,” Biden said.

“When the country neededyou most, you led, Chuck, andyou delivered.Neither I nor the country willever forget that,” Biden added.

Biden promised that the package will help speed up vaccine manufacturing and distribution.

Biden also pledged that many households will see stimulus checks this month — and took a shot at his predecessor Donald Trump in his remarks.

“When I was elected, I said wewere going to get the governmentout of the business of battlingon Twitter and back in thebusiness of delivering for theAmerican people, of making adifference in their lives,giving everyone a chance — afighting chance — of showing theAmerican people that theirgovernment can work for them,and passing the American RescuePlan will do that,” Biden added.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer speaks to the press at the Capitol on March 6, in Washington, DC.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “I have no doubt” President Joe Biden will sign the American Rescue Plan before the March 14 deadline.

He made the comments at a news conference right after the Senate passed the President’s Covid-19 relief bill.

“Nobody said passing one ofthe largest — perhaps the mostsignificant — bill to help thepoor and working people indecades was going to be easy,particularly with 50 votes.But it is done,” Schumer said.

Schumer praised his caucus, saying “I love each one of them.”

The bill will now go back to the House, where a separate vote will need to be passed before Biden can sign the bill.

Next week, the Senate will focus on continuing to confirm Biden’s cabinet nominees, including Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland and Housing and Urban Development Secretary nominee Marcia Fudge, Schumer said.

Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi arrives at a weekly news conference on March 4, in Washington.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement on the Senate passage of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, calling it “a beacon of hope.”

Pelosi said the bill is a “tremendous step forward” in providing help to families and small businesses hurting during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It honors our heroes – our health care workers, food, sanitation and transportation workers, and teachers – who are on the frontlines on the state and local level.It crushes the virus with the equitable and immediate distribution of the vaccine.And it puts our children safely back in school and puts workers back on the job.Overall, this coronavirus-centric legislation puts nearly a trillion dollars in the pockets of America’s families.”

“The American Rescue Plan is a beacon of hope for America’s families and a sign that, as President Biden has promised: Help Is On The Way,” she added.

Remember: The Senate bill now heads to the House of Representatives for a separate vote before President Biden can sign it into law.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, said passing the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill was “the bestthing we’ve done in the Senatein my career.”

Brown dismissed the amendments proposed by Republicans overnight.

GOP lawmakers introduced “all the kind of hot-buttonissues… the buttons they always pushwhen they don’t have a goodargument,” he said. “And we were doingthings that positively affectpeople’s lives.They were trying to change thesubject.They lost.”

Brown predicted that the American people will reap the benefits of today’s vote.

“Voters in the summer of 2021,voters are going to say, youknow, I voted for Joe Biden, andmy life got better becausePresident Biden andDemocrats in the House andSenate delivered my unemploymentcheck, delivered help for mysmall business, helped to openup our schools, kept myapartment, kept me from beingevicted in the middle of thepandemic. All those things wewere able to do, and it wasbecause we stuck together andlistened to what the publicwanted,” he said.

Senate Minority Whip Sen. John Thune speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 5 in Washington.

Sen. John Thune, the Republican whip, slammed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s handling of the last 24 hours, telling reporters that Schumer had not “crushed it.”

Thune said “this last 24 hours was really chaotic, and if this was a first big test, I don’t think he probably crushed it.”

Thune acknowledged, however, how hard it can be for a leadership when they have a narrow majority.

“Every power dynamic is different… but in a situation in the Senate with narrow margins, every man is a king and every woman is a queen, you really have a lot of leverage and influence. And people sometimes use it differently, and as a leader it is hard to manage that because there are a lot of conflicting – at times – objectives and strategies and tactics and everything else. You do the best you can… but yesterday was pretty extraordinary. We will see what comes next, but I hope it is a more orderly process,” Thune said.

Thune also said that Republicans have learned a lot as well about the immense pressure moderate Democrats, who might be willing to work with Republicans, have faced to fall in line.

“We learned a lot too on dealing with their side and dealing with members on their side who suggested at times they might be inclined to be with us on some things,” he said.

Thune said leadership was aware that GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski was going to vote with the party, despite the fact she had spent a lot of time trying to get some provisions included in the bill.

“She was having discussions with them on some things that are important to her state, but I kind of always believed in the end she would end up where she did, but like I said, every person’s vote is their vote, and we don’t pressure people. But I am glad she found her way to be with the team because I think it is a very strong message that this was – as we suggested all along – a very partisan process and a product that reflects a rushed, hurried attempt to try to get $2 trillion out the door to satisfy one of the President’s campaign promises,” he added.

Sen. Tina Smith.

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith called President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill “so important” after it passed in the Senate.

“The sense of making a realdifference for working familiesin this country was just sopalpable on the Senate floor — andthe difference that this isgoing to make for reopening ourschools safely, for liftingchildren out of poverty, forhelping families directlyrecover from this Covid pandemic —is just going to be soimportant,” Smith told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield.

Smith said she worked for about 30 hours straight. She arrived to the Senate at about 9 a.m. Friday morning since she was presiding in the morning.

Despite the long day, Smith said senators were confident that they could pass the bill.

Smith called Sen. Joe Manchin “a fighter” after his opposition on Friday to a Democratic deal boosting unemployment benefits stalled the Senate process.

“He is a fighter for WestVirginia.Just as we all are in thecaucus.We all fought really hard to getpieces into this package thatwere important to us,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a news conference after the Senate passed the $1.9 trillion Covid-relief package.

He said he spoke with President Biden on the phone just after the bill passed, and expressed to Biden that he was “confident from the get-go” the bill would pass in the Senate.

“He put together a great plan.It was just right — strong anddeep, but also very popular sowe have the strength to get itdone even if we had to do itwith just our own 50 votes,” Schumer said.

Remember: The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for a separate vote before President Biden can sign it into law.

Sen. Chuck Schumer.

After the Senate passed the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was confident it would pass.

“Nobody said passing one ofthe largest — perhaps the mostsignificant — bill to help thepoor and working people indecades was going to be easy,particularly with 50 votes.But it is done,” Schumer said at a news conference.

Schumer praised his caucus, saying “I love each one of them.”

“You know I have a leadershipteam that meets on Mondaynights, and it has ElizabethWarren and Bernie Sanders andJoe Manchin and Mark Warner andpeople in between, and that’sbecause we all have to…talk to each other andrealize we need each other andbe united as a team,” Schumer added.

On Friday, Sen. Manchin’s opposition to a Democratic deal boosting unemployment benefits ground the Senate to a halt, prompting a furious lobbying effort between the two parties.

Schumer said the debate was “meaninglesscompared to the relief theAmerican people are going to get.And if it helped us get to that,great,” he said, stressing that “unity, unity, unity” was key to getting it done.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released the following statement after Senate passage of the American Rescue Plan.

He said the House will vote Monday night on the rule laying out terms for the bill’s consideration, and the House will vote on Tuesday on the Senate-passed version of the bill.

“The Senate has now passed President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to provide long-awaited relief to Americans suffering from the economic impacts of COVID-19 and to boost our capacity to save lives by ramping up the deployment of testing and vaccines. The help that so many of our people have been waiting for during months of Republican inaction is one step closer,” Hoyer said.

Asked by a reporter what ultimately got him behind the eleventh-hour compromise with his party on unemployment benefits, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said:

Manchin was the only Democratic senator who did not sign off on the jobless benefits deal at the beginning of the day on Friday. Instead, he signaled support for an alternative, less generous proposal put forward by Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

After a long negotiation, and with a flurry of other amendments to consider, Manchin finally agreed to extend $300 weekly unemployment benefits through Sept. 6, about a month earlier than what Democrats had envisioned. The West Virginia Democrat also limited a provision to make the first $10,200 in benefits nontaxable apply only to households making less than $150,000.

The gavel finally went down on the first amendment vote of the Senate vote-a-rama, 11 hours and 50 minutes after it began, making it the longest roll call vote in recent Senate history.

President Biden is expected to speak this afternoon after the Senate passed his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package, a senior White House official said.

The official said the White House team has been working into the afternoon with “little sleep” and “long nights” as they’re trying to get this bill across the finish line. The White House is “taking nothing for granted,” the official said, and their work will continue as the bill moves back over to the House of Representatives.

CNN previously reported Biden spoke with Sen. Joe Manchin yesterday, and this official said today Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer played a big role in the last-minute negotiations with Manchin and others on unemployment benefits.

In the moments before the final vote on the $1.9 trillion dollar plan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took a moment to thank the Senate staff who worked overnight as the senators did.

“Let us thank the great floor staff, the clerks, the cafeteria workers, the custodial staff and the Capitol Police,” Schumer said, causing his colleagues to clap and give a standing ovation.

“Many of them have worked for as many as 36 hours straight,” Schumer added.

The Senate passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan on Saturday, after an all-night “vote-a-rama” and a 12-hour struggle to get Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin to support the party’s plan on a critical issue.

The vote was 50 to 49.

Now the bill goes back to the House of Representatives for a separate vote before President Biden signs it into law.

It’s expected to be passed next week.

The $1.9 trillion bill includes stimulus checks for many Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Democrats have faced fierce pressure to stay united to pass the administration’s top legislative priority before March 14, when jobless benefits are set to expire for millions of Americans. But West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s unexpected opposition on Friday to a Democratic deal boosting unemployment benefits ground the Senate to a halt, prompting a furious lobbying effort between the two parties.

Democrats kept a Senate roll call vote open for 11 hours and 50 minutes, the longest in recent history, as Manchin signaled he would accept the Republicans’ less generous proposal.

The dispute was a sign of the centrist Democrat’s power in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats control the narrowest possible majority, and an example of how a single senator can derail the President’s agenda.

Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan had to leave Friday to return home to Alaska for a family funeral, leaving Republicans with just 49 no votes.

President pro tempore of the Senate Patrick Leahy.

The Senate passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan on Saturday, after an all-night “vote-a-rama” and a 12-hour struggle to get one Democrat to support the party’s plan on a critical issue.

The vote was 50 to 49. The legislation is now expected to go back to the House for a final vote before Biden signs it into law.

Senators are now voting on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, after a marathon overnight session on a series of amendments.

If the bill passes in the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a separate vote before President Biden can sign it into law.

Lawmakers made several changes throughout the legislation, includingnarrowing eligibility for the stimulus checks, trimming the federal boost to unemployment benefits and nixing an increase in thefederal minimum wageto $15 an hour.

You can read more about what’s in the bill here.

CNN’s Manu Raju popped into the Senate chamber and said members were bleary-eyed, staring blankly into space, on their iPads and phones and chit-chatting with their neighbors.

He said members look exhausted and ready to move on.

“As [GOP Sen.] Chuck Grassley stood up and called for support of his amendments, several Republicans shouted out “by voice!” to speed consideration, but Democrats wouldn’t allow it,” Raju reported.

Virtually all senators were seen at their desks – which rarely happens – but they are sitting there to speed the voting process.

Some are popping into their cloakrooms, according to Raju, and GOP Sen. Rand Paul was the only one not wearing a mask.

Both Democrats and Republicans are indicating that an “end is actually in sight” to the amendment process, according to CNN’s Manu Raju, after senators pulled an all-nighter over President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill.

Democrats believe they can keeptheir caucus together, and passage could potentiallyoccur within the next couple ofhours, Raju reported.

If the bill passes in the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a separate vote before it heads to Biden’s desk and the President could sign it into law.

White House Press Secretary JenPsakisaid Friday evening that Biden “supports the compromise agreement, and is grateful to all the Senators who worked so hard to reach this outcome.”

“This agreement allows usto move forward on the urgentlyneeded American Rescue Plan,with $1,400 relief checks,funding we need to finish thevaccine rollout, open ourschools, help those sufferingfrom the pandemic, and more,” Psaki said.

Watch the latest:

A pedestrian walks through Times Square during a winter storm in New York on Friday, February 19.

Millions of Americans will start running out of pandemic unemployment benefits on March 14, putting increased pressure on the Senate to quickly pass its version ofPresident Biden’s$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to extend those programs.

The jobless payments are among the first federal lifelines from December’s$900 billion stimulus packageset to expire, with additional provisions for expanded paid sick and family leave, small businesses, food stamps, housing protections and other relief lapsing in the following weeks and months.

Out-of-work Americanswill get their last $300 federal weekly boost to jobless payments on March 14. And those in two key pandemic unemployment assistance will start running out of benefits at that time.

Some 4 million people in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs will see their benefits expire in mid-March, while the payments of another 7.3 million folks will lapse over the following four weeks, according to a recentreport from The Century Foundation.

Thetwo temporary federal programswere created in Congress’ $2 trillion relief package last March and were extended by 11 weeks in the$900 billion relief dealpassed in December.

The former provides benefits to freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors and certain people affected by the pandemic, while the latter lengthens the duration of payments for those in the traditional state unemployment system.

Read more here.

Sen. Dan Sullivan and Sen. Chris Coons are seen outside the chamber as the Senate votes to open debate on the coronavirus relief package on Thursday, March 4.

Sen. Dan Sullivan left Washington, DC, forAlaskaon Friday due to the passing of his father-in-law, adding to the challenges facing the GOP in trying to delay and amend the Covid-19 relief bill championed by the White House.

“Due to the recent passing of his father-in-law, Senator Sullivan had to depart on a Friday afternoon flight to make it back to Fairbanks,Alaskain time for the funeral,” according to a statement from his office.

The statement added that “Senator Sullivan intended to vote against final passage of the bill and made his opposition clear in a statement on Thursday, after his vote against the motion to proceed with consideration of the bill.”

Before leaving, Sullivan did vote Friday against the minimum wage amendment put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The Senate is currently in a marathon voting session on a series of amendmentsto President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill – also known as a vote-a-rama.

It’s a Senate tradition that the minority party uses to put members of the majority on the record on controversial issues in an effort to make changes to a bill that they oppose.

Republicans are using the process to put Democrats in a tough position to not just stay united, but also consistent about the stimulus package.

Usually, lawmakers agree to a process that looks a lot like this:

However in this instance,Sen. Ron Johnson, aRepublican from Wisconsin,took steps to stretch out the timeline for Biden’s bill by forcing a full reading of the bill on Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called out Johnson in a floor speech Thursday, saying, “We all know this will merely delay the inevitable.”

Biden’s stance

CNN reported that the Presidentmade an aggressive pitch to Democrats for his relief planearlier this week, telling them during a virtual meeting that they all need to accept some provisions they might not like but also must demonstrate to the American people they are responding to the devastating public health and economic crises.

What happened overnight

Senate Republicans introduced a number of amendments overnight that were narrowly defeated by the Democratic majority. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine pushed to replace Biden’s bill with a $650 billion version. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida wanted to tie school funding to reopening requirements. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina advocated for greater transparency for state nursing home investigations.

But the GOP amendments failed, along with one by Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester to require Biden to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which he recently blocked.

Sen. Joe Manchin walks on the senate side of the Capitol Building on Friday, March 5, in Washington.

Sen. JoeManchin, a Democrat from West Virginia,brought the Senate to a standstill on Friday over a policy dispute that threatened to upend President Biden’s top agenda item — the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill. It prompted a furious lobbying effort behind the scenes after Democrats thought they had party unity.

Manchin was the only Democratic senator who did not sign off on the jobless benefits deal at the beginning of the day. Instead, he signaled support for an alternative, less generous proposal put forward by Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

After a long negotiation, and with a flurry of other amendments to consider, Manchin finally agreed to extend $300 weekly unemployment benefits through Sept. 6, about a month earlier than what Democrats had envisioned. The West Virginia Democrat also limited a provision to make the first $10,200 in benefits nontaxable apply only to households making less than $150,000.

The gavel finally went down on the first amendment vote of the Senate vote-a-rama, 11 hours and 50 minutes after it began, making it the longest roll call vote in recent Senate history.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrives to speak to the media on Tuesday, March 2, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer just spoke briefly on the Senate floor to ask members to stay near the floor because he believes they have about 14 amendments to go.

Schumer asked that lawmakers stay close so they can try and vote for these in 10-minute increments. Schumer also predicted a few could pass by voice vote, meaning there wouldn’t have to be a recorded vote.

Amendment votes are the last major hurdle senators face before voting on the massive pandemic relief bill.

The Capitol is seen just before sunrise in Washington on Friday, March 5.

The Senate is voting into Saturday morning on a series of amendmentsto the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, following a nearly 12-hour struggle to get one Democrat to support the party’s plan to extend unemployment benefits.

Here’s a recap of what happened so far:

Now what?

The Senate will pass the bill after voting on a series of amendments, a process known as vote-a-rama, which could end as soon as this morning. But given the changes made to the plan, it will have to go back to the House for a final vote before being sent to Biden’s desk for his signature.