President Joe Biden is praising the passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for shepherding the bill through the lower chamber.
In a statement shortly after the House passed the relief package on Wednesday, Biden praised the Democratic leader for her political acumen as he said, “I want to thank all the members who voted for it, especially Speaker Pelosi, the finest and most capable speaker in the history of our nation.”
“Once again, she has led into law an historic piece of legislation that addresses a major crisis and lifts up millions of Americans,” he added.
Read the statement below:
Statement from @POTUS on House passage of the #AmericanRescuePlan. pic.twitter.com/UgEGIJPdDc
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) March 10, 2021
The House passed the bill on Wednesday without any Republican support. It will now be sent to Biden’s desk for his signature.
He is expected to sign the bill on Friday.
The relief package will send $1,400 direct payments to individuals who make less than $75,000 per year, $350 billion in federal aid to state and local governments, increase the child tax credit, and provide more money for coronavirus vaccine distribution.
“This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation – the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going – a fighting chance,” Biden said of the bill.
The Senate pass bill on Saturday in a 50-49 vote. No Republicans in that chamber voted for it either.
In the House, Democrats had a slim margin of error as they could only lose four votes. On Wednesday, just one Democrat voted against the bill.
Progressive Democrats in the House had voiced disappointment that the latest version of the relief package was stripped of a provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
However, they ultimately decided to back the bill, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) praised as the “most significant piece of legislation to benefit working people in the modern history of this country.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called the legislation a “truly progressive and bold package that delivers on its promise to put money directly in people’s pockets.”