This week marks President Joe Biden’s first big test as his massive COVID-19 relief bill begins to take shape on Capitol Hill with very little bipartisan support. Contrary to popular belief, having control of the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House is never as easy as it looks – even when discussing legislation that may seem emphatically popular with the American public. As such, the next three weeks will be critical in determining how Democrat moderates and progressives will compromise, as well as which Republican leaders will be willing to put aside their political grievances in the name of the greater good.
As of now, Republican leaders in the House have made it abundantly clear that they intend to do everything within their power to ensure that the Biden administration does not receive the satisfaction of passing this legislation with bipartisan support. In fact, in a strict party-line vote earlier this month, all 50 Senate Democrats voted in favor of advancing a budget resolution to speed aid package through Congress, whereas 49 Senate Republicans voted against it. Moving forward, White House aides claim that Republicans who attack the merits of the bill can be expected to argue that the legislation includes a number of provisions that are unrelated to coronavirus relief – including providing funding for the arts, humanities, and the preservation of Native American languages.
On the other hand, Progressives are counting on the bill including a $15 minimum wage, whereas certain moderate Democrats, including Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of West Virginia and Arizona respectively, have made it clear that they cannot support the proposed wage increase. With only a five-vote margin, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cannot afford to lose support from either progressives or moderates. Now, having surpassed over 500,000 deaths in the United States and nearly one year into the pandemic, Democrats must try to stay united if they wish to pass this $1.9 trillion bill and deliver for their new President on his first big ask.
Here at CIMA Law Group, we will be following the issue very closely.
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