LIVE: House Passes Budget to Set Biden's Covid Stimulus on Democrat-Only Track

(Feb. 5) The House adopted the budget resolution that cleared the Senate early Friday, paving the way to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill in coming weeks with only Democratic votes.

The resolution cleared the House on a 219 to 209 vote hours after Senate Democrats called on Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote to approve it 51 to 50. The House had previously adopted the budget Wednesday and had to vote again after the Senate made mostly symbolic changes during a 15-hour amendment marathon.

The resolution won’t go to Biden for his signature, because its main purpose is to outline a special procedure for passing fiscal legislation without needing 60 Senate votes to get around a Republican filibuster.

“With this budget resolution, we have taken a giant step to save lives and livelihoods,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said in a letter to House Democrats before meeting with Biden at the White House Friday. She later told reporters that Friday’s action sets Congress up to pass the stimulus bill before expanded unemployment benefits expire March 14.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said he plans to have public hearings on the stimulus, unemployment and tax provisions next Wednesday through Friday. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House plans to vote on the final package the week of Feb. 22.

While Democrats say they are still open to a bipartisan deal with Republicans, the chances for such an agreement are diminishing by the day. Ten Republican senators led by Susan Collins of Maine have been talking to the White House about their own $618 billion alternative plan, but Biden has said it is far too small to meet the economic challenges.

Members of that group of senators denounced Democrats’ moves to pass a partisan package.

“We were ready and willing to work together with Democrats and the White House to get coronavirus under control, kick start America’s economy, and ensure our kids return back to the education they deserve. We offered an alternative to the president that meets our recovery needs while remaining fiscally responsible. Democrats ignored it, refusing to work across the aisle,” West Virginia Republican Shelley Moore Capito said in a statement.

Friday’s jobs report provided more ammunition for the White House argument. Private-sector payrolls barely grew in January, the Labor Department reported. While the jobless rate dipped to 6.3%, that was partly because some Americans gave up looking for work.

The majority party will face hurdles in enacting the stimulus. Democrats still need to hash out the exact details of the stimulus bill, including how to restrict eligibility for $1,400 direct stimulus payments and whether to try to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. A hint of this debate emerged Thursday night when the Senate voted to approve non-binding amendments to the budget disapproving of checks going to “upper income” individuals and of increasing the minimum wage during the pandemic.

The bill will also face rules challenges in the Senate where Republicans will try to strike provisions they deem non-budgetary in nature. They have signaled that they’ll challenge the minimum wage hike if Democrats try to include that.

Senate Democrats cannot afford to lose a single of member of their caucus on the eventual stimulus vote. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has already said he favors seeking bipartisanship and he opposes the $15 minimum wage.

Moderate House Democrats have also expressed unease with taking a purely partisan approach to stimulus. The fiscally conservative Blue Dogs Coalition and the bipartisan the Problem Solvers Caucus have requested votes on vaccine and health funding immediately, rather than letting the budget process work out.

---

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.

To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit  or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.

Connect with us on…

Breaking News on YouTube