The Senate approved President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan on Saturday, after a roughly 24-hour marathon of debate pushed the $1.9 trillion dollar pandemic aid bill to the brink of legislative victory.
(1) Senate
(2) House
(3) Biden’s Desk
I don’t often post Ezra Klein, but:
I guess that I shouldn’t watch sausage being made, either. Manchin made me extremely nervous.
This is fantastic! It’s really starting to look as though Biden knows what he’s doing. Who knew that it maters who the leader of the free world is?
Better to raise a little hell on the front end. After it’s done, it’s too late. That said, it’s a great package, loaded with meat and potatoes stuff that will matter.
Um… after four years and you are just sticking a toe in on that one? Biden could be a complete incompetent and he will still know what he is doing compared to [Individual-1].
I’ve been in the Senate a long time, and I’ve never seen Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader, or anyone ever work so diligently, so purposefully, so patiently on legislation so consequential.
Thank you, Senator Schumer.
D*mn straight he does. Do not let the Grandfather exterior fool you. He is a Political Operative. He will cut you in two with a soft voice and a smile if you cross him.
Too many politicians start out with the best intentions but are seduced by the Dark Side of politics and it consumes them (here’s looking at you Governor Cumo). It is fortunate for the American People that after 40 years President Biden has still chosen to use his power for the good.
Schumer did it again.
He invoked cloture on the nominations of Merrick Garland and Marcia Fudge while the GQP was reeling from their humiliation on the COVID bill.
.
Schumer tees up votes next week to confirm Merrick Garland as attorney general and Marcia Fudge to HUD
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 6, 2021
50 to 49? Did Vice President Harris need to vote? Who didn’t vote?
(this would have been nice to see in the article…)
Okay, I looked it up on senate.gov: a Republican, Sen Sullivan from AK (Alaska?) didn’t vote. My apologies!
As a historian, before and after have significance for me.
Yes, we maybe have a chance to get some Momentum going, but
(1) At least we have a chance
(2) We should message as best we can and that’s it: the GOP is what it is
President Biden says relief checks will start going out to the American people later this month.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 6, 2021
The other Senator from Alaska had to go to his FIL’s funeral.
President Biden: "I really want to thank the American people for making all this possible. How did they make it possible? Quite frankly, without the overwhelming, bipartisan support of the American people, this would not have happened."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 6, 2021
Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) did not vote. He had to return to Alaska for his father-in-law’s funeral.
He would have voted NO in any event.
Incredibly savvy, adult, understated and fundamentally true
While I’m thrilled they got it done so quickly, I agree with Josh’s latest editorial. Dems MUST advertise the hell out of this thing. As I said before, one thing they need to learn from the Trump administration is to brag, brag, brag on their accomplishments. Don’t give Republicans the opportunity to run against it. Get out in front of it by telling the people what you’ve done for them and who did it. That may go against everything Dems believe in, but if we let Republicans write the story we lose. And this package is one helluva winner!
This is LBJ level big. The House will have to do its thing, but when the entire ideological range of the Senate Dem caucus from Manchin to Sanders voted for this bill, I have little doubt that we’ll be able to get the Dem caucus in the House to support the Senate version.
I believe that passing this bill will set the Dems up to dominate national politics this decade. I do think it’s how Biden gets re-elected and how Dems win the '22 midterms. There are few bills in US history that will have as immediate and tangible an impact on people’s lives as the American Rescue Plan will have on Americans. We Democrats will restore normal life, stimulate an economic boom, make needed investments in schools and health care, and put money in people’s pockets.
When the GOP passed the Tax bill in Dec 2017, I thought it opened the door for Dems to pass something this big because the GOP really lost the argument that they were the party of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. There’s no way to justify a nearly 2T tax giveaway while also denying the right of gov’t to pass a 2T bill that put money in the pockets of average Americans.
We’re nearly at the point of a big time win.
And a great dig at the Congressional GQP and its intransigence.