#aid/relief/stimulus #Democrats #Republicans #Senate #House,
This wk negotiations over Mr. Biden’s $1.9-T aid/relief/stimulus idea will get intense as the Senate begins its debate and lawmakers position to include individual pork projects.
Looking at the landscape Democrats should not expect much, if any, Republican backing for the bill.
“It is my hope that at the end, Senate Republicans will unanimously oppose it, just like House Republicans did,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, noting that the legislation is loaded with provisions unrelated to the ‘pandemic‘.
A project that got dumped Tuesday from the Senate version of the bill was $1.5-M for a bridge connecting upstate New York with Canada. Republicans charged it was an example of lawmakers funding pet causes.
The Senate version of the House bill is likely to include this major change: eliminating a minimum wage increase to $15/hr by Y 2025 from the current $7.25. Late last wk, the Senate parliamentarian ruled the proposal could not be included in a procedure designed to ease passage of the legislation in the Senate.
Though it will include $1,400 direct payments to individuals, a $400-per-wk federal unemployment benefit through 29 August and help for those persons having difficulty paying rents and home mortgages during the pandemic.
Should the Senate passes the bill the House would then have to sign off before sending it to Mr. Biden for enacting into law. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that final vote would come next wk.
Have a healthy day, Keep the Faith!
