Senate Passes $2 Trillion Relief Bill; Pelosi Has Message For ‘Disappointed’ House Democrats

On Wednesday night, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the largest stimulus bill in history, amounting to some $2.2 trillion in relief measures, including $1,200 checks to most American adults (and another $500 for most children), a $500 billion loan program for struggling businesses, cities and states, nearly $400 billion for employee-retention funds for small businesses and another $130 billion for hospitals, among other provisions.

Now the bill goes to the Democrat-majority House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is trying to make sure her fellow “disappointed” Democrats get on board.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced Wednesday that the House will convene at 9 a.m. on Friday to consider the bill, which will be voted on by voice vote so that House members won’t need to return to Washington amid the crisis.

While the Senate passed the bill 96-0, with some Senators absent due to self-quarantine or health concerns, the House may not see such unanimity. Despite the economic relief bill’s sweeping provision and staggering final cost, it is not enough for many House Democrats, who want more of their agenda items included, as demonstrated by the House Democrats’ bill floated Monday and quickly withdrawn after widespread backlash over its long list of non-crisis-related, “Democratic wishlist” provisions — including new voting laws, collective bargaining rights for federal unions, and imposing carbon emissions caps on airlines.

While Pelosi strongly signaled Wednesday that she will get the bill passed in the House on Friday, she also revealed that she’s having to do some work behind the scenes to get “disappointed” Democrats to back the historic bill.

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