Pelosi: Biden's $1.9 Trillion Covid Stimulus On Par With Affordable Care Act

Congress is poised to approve a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, placing President Joe Biden on the cusp of an early triumph that advances Democratic priorities and showcases the unity his party will need to forge future victories.

The House was expected to give final congressional approval Wednesday to the package, which aims to fulfill Democrats' campaign promises to beat the pandemic and revive the enfeebled economy.

"I am so excited; I just can't hide it," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday.

Four days after the Senate returned a modestly revamped version of the measure to the House, both chamber's Republicans have unanimously opposed the package as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the dual crises are easing.

"It's hard for us to understand how the Republicans can vote against this bill because it has such an impact on their constituents.," Pelosi told reporters.

For Biden and Democrats, the bill is essentially a self-portrait of who they are — a party that believes government programs can be a benefit, not a bane, to millions of people and that spending huge sums on such efforts can be a cure, not a curse.

"We have come together as a as a party in the Congress to do something monumental, but something that also clearly reflects our values as a party. A commitment to using government to improve the lives of as many people as possible," Chairman of the House Budget Committee John Yarmuth, D-Kentucky, said.

They're also empowered by three dynamics: Their unfettered control of the White House and Congress, polls showing robust support for Biden's approach and an era when most voters care little that the national debt is soaring toward a stratospheric $22 trillion. Neither party seems much troubled by surging red ink, either, except when the other is using it to finance its priorities, be they Democratic spending or GOP tax cuts.

A dominant feature of the 628-page bill is initiatives making it one of the biggest federal thrusts in years to assist lower- and middle-income families. Included are expanded tax credits over the next year for children, child care and family leave plus spending for renters, feeding programs and people's utility bills.

The child tax credit could end up permanently changing the way the country deals with child poverty.

It also sets up a potential political showdown with Republicans over an issue that Democrats believe could drive significant wins for the party in the 2022 midterm elections and beyond.

Rep. Richard Neal, House Ways and Means Chairman was asked if the child tax credit expiration creates a fiscal cliff.

He says, "One thing that you should know about the tax code. Getting something out of the code is oftentimes harder than getting something in the cold. So, I've already had some thoughts about how we're going to expand it and make it permanent."

The measure provides up to $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, extended emergency unemployment benefits and hundreds of billions for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, schools, state and local governments and ailing industries from airlines to concert halls.

There are subsidies for consumers buying health insurance and states expanding health coverage under the Medicaid program for lower earners.

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