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US Senate passes Biden's $1.9tn pandemic relief plan
Washington: The US Senate has passed President Joe Biden's $1.9tn worthy ‘The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021’ on Saturday, to speed up the United States' recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to details, the bill is aimed at helping Americans to deal with the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Following other relief packages it is the third bill in the US since the start of the pandemic according to which $1,400 will be sent to most Americans. Biden said such payments could start being distributed later this month.
"It obviously wasn't easy. It wasn't always pretty. But it was so desperately needed, urgently needed," Biden said.
He further added that he hoped for a quick passage of the bill in the House so that he could sign it into law.
Meanwhile, republicans said that the relief plan is too costly, following which some democrats have also voiced criticism of certain provisions. Hence, the party’s leadership was forced to make a number of compromises.
However, the plan was approved despite every Republican senator voted against.
The major spending package is expected to be given final approval in the House of Representatives next week.
According to a report, America’s worst public health crisis has left nearly 523,000 people dead and 29 million infected, with a current unemployment rate of 6.2%.
The act was first proposed on January 14, 2021, the package builds upon many of the measures in the ‘CARES Act’ from March.