Biden heralds House passage of $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill

President Joe Biden heralded the House’s passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill in brief remarks Saturday morning.  

‘For a few weeks now, an overwhelming percentage of American public has made it clear that they support my American Rescue Plan. And the House of Representatives took the first step toward making it a reality,’ the president said. 

He thanked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her ‘extraordinary leadership’ though didn’t answer reporters’ questions about the bill receiving no Republican support. 

President Joe Biden gave remarks Saturday morning about the House’s passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi early Saturday morning at the moment the bill passed

Later Saturday, President Joe Biden (left) and first lady Jill Biden (right) headed to Wilmington, Delaware for the weekend 

The House passed the bill in the early hours of Saturday morning with every GOP member voting against the plan and two Democrats, Reps. Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine, joining Republican ranks.  

The Biden White House has pointed to polling data, that showed Republican voters supportive of the bill, to argue that it actually did have bipartisan support. 

With the House’s Democratic majority’s vote, Biden said the country was ‘one step closer to vaccinating the nation.’  

‘We’re one step closer to putting $1,400 in the pockets of Americans,’ Biden continued. ‘We are one step closer to extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who are shortly going to lose them.’ 

Overall, Americans within certain income brackets will receive $2,000 stimulus checks, as the previous COVID relief bill included $600 checks. 

‘We are one step closer to helping millions of Americans feed their families and keep a roof over their head. We’re one step closer to getting our kids safely back in school. And we’re one step closer to getting state and local governments the money they need to prevent massive layoffs for essential workers,’ the president continued.  

Biden then urged for the Senate to move the bill to his desk quickly. 

The Senate parliamentarian ruled that a $15 minimum wage hike couldn’t be included in the bill if it were to go through using the process of reconciliation.  

Democrats plan to use reconciliation to get the COVID relief bill through because they don’t have 60 votes – meaning the support of 10 Republicans – to get it through normal order. 

The House passed the bill in the early hours of Saturday morning with every GOP member voting against the plan and two Democrats, Reps. Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine, joining Republican ranks 

‘We’re one step closer to putting $1,400 in the pockets of Americans,’ Biden said

‘We are one step closer to extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who are shortly going to lose them,’ he added

While progressive Democrats have been pushing for the $15 minimum wage increase – and Biden has said he supports it – not having it in the Senate bill will make it easier to pass.  

‘We have no time to waste,’ Biden said. ‘If we act now decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again. And the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering.’ 

‘The American Rescue Plan does just that. It relieves the suffering, and it’s time to act,’ he said. 

Biden then peeled off. 

He also didn’t answer questions about whether he’ll punish the Saudi crown prince for ordering the operation that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

Later Saturday, Biden is expected to fly home to Wilmington, Delaware, where he plans to spend the weekend.  

Since being sworn in, this will be his second trip home and third weekend away, as he also spent a weekend with his family at the presidential retreat, Camp David.