House passes coronavirus spending bill 415 to 2

U.S. Congress. — (Image credit: Zach Gibson/Getty Images))

The House easily passed a bipartisan $8.3 billion emergency spending package to fight COVID-19 on Wednesday, not long after negotiators agreed on the bill's contents. The final count was 415-2.

Two Republican congressmen, Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.), were the holdouts, with Biggs arguing the package was "bloated" and went far beyond President Trump's "reasonable" $2.5 billion request.

The bill will now head to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass quickly and decisively, although Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has said he wants to include an amendment stipulating the money will be made available through cuts to foreign aid.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.