House prepares to vote on COVID rescue bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – Partisan lines are forming as the House prepares to vote on the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan.”

The bill is President Biden’s first legislative response to the pandemic and the Democratic majority in both the House and Senate are prepared to use legislative rules to pass the bill without Republican support.

Republicans are blasting the bill as a bloated liberal wish list with spending unrelated to fighting the pandemic.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) said, “Just the other day, President Biden challenged Republicans to show him the waste, ‘What would you cut?’ President Biden said. My response to President Biden would be, ‘How much time do you have, Mr. President, to go through the litany of things in this bill that have nothing to do with COVID.”

Democrats say the massive bill is needed to fund schools and the vaccine rollout, extend unemployment insurance, and help budget-strapped local governments.

Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is a once in a century tragedy and it requires a once in a century continuing comprehensive and compassionate congressional response. That is what the American Rescue Plan represents.”

The House appears set to vote on the bill this Friday.

President Biden hopes the Senate passes it for his signature by mid-March when federal-enhanced unemployment benefits expire.

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