The House on Wednesday signed off on the Senate-amended COVID-19 relief bill, which means the $1.9 trillion package is officially headed to President Biden's desk. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said he'll put pen to paper on Friday afternoon.
The 220-211 vote was heavily partisan, as expected. No Republicans voted for the measure, which they consider a wasteful ploy by Democrats to push through progressive policies unrelated to the pandemic, while only two members of the Democrats' slim majority opposed it. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) again parted ways with his Democratic colleagues, just as he did while voting for the initial bill last month. But Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), the other Democrat who voted against the first version of the bill, backed it this time, suggesting some of the changes, which include no gradual minimum wage hike, a lower weekly unemployment benefit, and a lower income cap on direct payments, satisfied his previous concerns.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - September 7, 2024Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - football widows, meddling kids, and more
-
Smoking ban: the return of the nanny state?Talking Point Starmer's plan to revive Sunak-era war on tobacco has struck an unsettling chord even with some non-smokers
-
Crossword: September 7, 2024The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cowSpeed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and earlySpeed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
-
US bans final type of asbestosSpeed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical recordsSpeed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problemSpeed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levelsSpeed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid scienceSpeed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
-
An increasing number of dog owners are 'vaccine hesitant' about rabiesSpeed Read A new survey points to canine vaccine hesitancy
