Stimulus bill lands back in House today

House lawmakers are set to reopen debate today on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, with final approval expected soon. President Joe Biden hopes to sign the bill by the end of the week before jobless benefits run out.

CONGRESS

■ House Democrats are expected to approve the bill by Wednesday after the Senate gave its support over the weekend. Because of a series of changes made by the Senate, the legislation needs a final OK by the House.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

■ The bill authorizes $1,400 checks to millions of low- and middleincome Americans, bolsters families by providing new yearly child tax benefits and boosts unemployment payments for those workers who are still out of a job.

WHAT’S NEXT

■ With a House vote set in the coming days, the package would be approved before millions of Americans are set to lose unemployment benefits Sunday and opens the door for stimulus checks to be sent by the end of the month.

What’s happening

Democrats in the chamber are expected to approve the bill — which includes a dramatic expansion of pandemic aid and federal safety net programs — despite changes to critical elements of the stimulus adopted by the Senate over the weekend.

Dubbed the American Rescue Plan, the package authorizes $1,400 checks to millions of lowand middle-income Americans, bolsters families by providing new child tax benefits, boosts unemployment payments for workers still out of a job and authorizes a wide array of additional programs in an attempt to shepherd a swift, equal recovery to one of the worst economic crises in a generation.

What’s next?

The timeline puts Congress on track to adopt the stimulus package before millions of Americans are set to lose unemployment benefits on Sunday. And it also opens the door for the U.S. government to start sending one-time checks to a large number of families “by the end of the month,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

Biden, for his part, was set to appear at a veterans medical center Monday in what is shaping up to be a week of coronavirus-related events. He also aims to give his first national televised address Thursday night that is expected to touch on the emergency coronavirus aid, Psaki said at her daily briefing.

About lawmakers’ reaction

Not a single Republican voted for the $1.9 trillion stimulus — either the earlier version that cleared the House in February, nor the one passed by the Senate on Saturday. To woo centrist Democratic lawmakers, the party’s Senate leaders proffered some late changes that removed from the House-passed version an increase to the federal minimum wage, while lessening the amount of enhanced weekly benefits for workers still collecting unemployment.

The alterations appeared to frustrate left-leaning lawmakers, creating the potential for friction in the House, where Democrats only have five votes to spare. But progressive leaders appeared to bless the measure, with Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-wash., the chief of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, saying Saturday it is “exactly what economists say is needed to jump-start our economy and the labor market.”

“Importantly, despite the fact that we believe any weakening of the House provisions were bad policy and bad politics, the reality is that the final amendments were relatively minor concessions,” she said.

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the need to avoid “permanent scarring” in the economy from the pandemic. Speaking with the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for International Women’s Day, she said the concern is particularly acute at a time when women are dropping out of the labor force in high numbers as schools close.