On the 50th day of the Biden administration, the House approved the final version of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, handing the new president a significant legislative victory as he works to stabilize an economy still struggling to rebound from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act, passed by a vote of 220 to 211. One Democrat, Representative Jared Golden of Maine, joined all Republicans in voting against the measure. Golden had previously voted against the House version of the bill which passed last week. Not one provision was changed from the version that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) shepherded through the Senate and that President Biden will sign on Friday. President Biden is planning a public relations blitz across the country during the next several weeks to promote the benefits of the relief package and his role in pushing it through Congress. His campaign will begin tonight with a prime-time address from the Oval Office for the first anniversary of the COVID restrictions imposed by former President Donald J. Trump. Of Note, NYT: With Relief Plan, Biden Takes on a New Role: Crusader for the Poor.
American Rescue Plan White House FACT SHEET.
Also of note, the Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Merrick Garland as attorney general, placing the longtime federal appeals court judge and onetime Supreme Court pick at the helm of an agency central to President Joe Biden’s domestic policy agenda. The vote was 70-30.
For today, the House met at 9 a.m. for legislative business and is working on two pieces of gun legislation. The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, H.R. 8, passed this morning with a vote of 227 to 203, with eight Republicans joining almost all Democrats in voting for the bill. Introduced by Democratic California Congressman Mike Thompson, H.R. 8 would establish background check requirements for gun sales between private parties, prohibiting transfers unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. The legislation would not apply to certain transfers, such as a gift between spouses. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut has introduced the companion bill in the Senate. The second piece of legislation to be considered by the House on Thursday is the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, H.R. 1446. The bill, introduced by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (South Carolina), would close the so-called “Charleston loophole,” which allows some gun sales to go through before background checks are completed. Under that loophole, Dylann Roof was able to purchase a firearm in 2015 which he then used to murder nine people at a historically Black church in South Carolina. The bill would increase the amount of time firearm sellers must wait to receive a completed background check before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed buyer from three days to 10 days. This bill has not one Republican cosponsor. After these votes, the House will adjourn today and reconvene on Tuesday, March 16th.
The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and resumed consideration of the motion to discharge the nomination of Xavier Becerra from the Committee on Finance, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. The time for debate will expire at 12:00 noon and the Senate will vote on the motion to discharge the Becerra nomination. The Senate will then resume consideration of Debra Haaland to be Secretary of the Interior. Senate Majority Leader Schumer on Wednesday moved to bring Becerra’s nomination to the full Senate after a committee deadlocked on advancing President Biden’s nominee. Under the rule invoked by Schumer, the Senate will hold a four-hour debate and then a vote today on whether to bring Becerra’s nomination to the floor, where Democrats will need only a simple majority to move forward. Schumer would then need to formally tee up votes on ending debate and confirmation, a step that will eat up days of time, before the Senate can take a final vote on Becerra’s nomination. Senate Majority Leader Schumer on Tuesday also moved to break a GOP blockade and hold over Rep. Deb Haaland’s (D-New Mexico) nomination to lead the Interior Department. Schumer said the Senate will start the process of confirming her today, an indication that a final vote on her nomination isn’t likely until the following week.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
