Senate Democrats approve budget resolution, teeing up coronavirus bill
By Jordain Carney - 02/05/21 05:35 AM EST
Senate Democrats approved a budget resolution early Friday morning that will allow them to pass coronavirus relief without GOP support.
The budget passed the Senate in a 50-50 party-line vote, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie. Because senators made changes to the resolution, it now bounces back to the House, where lawmakers will need to pass it for a second time as soon as Friday.
The budget resolution doesn’t get signed into law, but it's the first step for being able to pass a subsequent coronavirus relief bill that can bypass the 60-vote legislative filibuster in the Senate.
"We have moved forward. Many bipartisan amendments were adopted. ... This was a giant first step," Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said after the vote. "We will keep working as hard as we can to pass this legislation through the House, through the Senate as we go through the reconciliation process and hopefully put it on the president's desk."
The budget, effectively a shell bill, authorizes a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill and includes instructions to congressional committees on drafting the legislation under reconciliation, the tool Democrats are using to sideline Republicans in the Senate.
Democrats now have to craft and negotiate the legislation. If they try to pass a bill without GOP support, they'll need near-universal support from House Democrats and every vote of the 50-member Senate Democratic Caucus.
President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion plan that includes a $1,400 direct stimulus payment, a $400 per week federal unemployment benefit, $350 billion for state and local governments, a minimum wage hike to $15 per hour and more money for things like child care, schools and vaccine distribution.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/537482-senate-democrats-approves-budget-resolution-teeing-up-coronavirus-bill
