BREAKING: American Rescue Plan Passed!

Biden's COVID-19 Relief passed.

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YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!

The American Rescue Plan is passed. 

It's official, the U.S. Senate passed the legislation with 48 Democrats and 2 independents who caucus with them and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.

President Joe Biden's massive plan to help families struggling during this pandemic is now passed. The $1.9 trillion bill was passed through budget reconciliation which bypasses the usual filibuster tactics of the Republicans. 

No Republicans voted for the legislation. They are too busy worrying about Potato Heads, transgender children in the restroom, Dr. Seuss and the president making gaffes.

They had no proposals and no alternatives suitable. They deliberately tried to sabotage the Biden administration with bullshitl

The Democrats had to concede to the two assholes in their party.

On party lines, the Senate passes a major legislative agenda.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) forced the Democrats to remove the minimum wage increase and reduce the stimulus payments to $1,400.

Americans who make less than $75,000 in yearly revenue will get $1,400 direct payments in the coming weeks. The law has billions of dollars for vaccine distribution, and funds to help reopen schools and colleges.

The chamber passed the bill following a session that began around 9 a.m. Friday and ended at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, aft a "vote-a-rama" of proposed changes from both parties. The final vote was 50-49 with all Republicans voting against the measure and all members of the Senate Democratic caucus supporting it. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) was not present for the vote.

"It’s been a long day, a long night, a long year, But a new day has come," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. “We tell the American people 'help is on the way.'"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) countered that "the Senate has never spent $2 trillion in a more haphazard way or through a less rigorous process."

The bill has been Biden's chief legislative priority as he begins his presidency. He's stressed the aid is sorely needed for Americans battling the economic impacts of a pandemic that's killed more than 522,000 Americans and has pushed for Congress to pass the bill quickly.

Democrats did not get everything they wanted. The bill does not include a $15 federal hourly minimum wage that progressives had sought. And weekly unemployment benefits were pared back from $400 to $300. But it includes $350 billion for states and localities, provides economic assistance to renters and expands the child tax credit.

Republicans have decried the measure as bloated legislation that disproportionately benefits blue states and large cities with assistance that has nothing to do with the pandemic.

McConnell denounced it as an "ideological spending spree with non-related COVID policies." 

Other Republicans questioned the need for more aid as vaccines rolled out and the economy showed signs of improvement. 

"Things are looking better," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who asked if there were ways to "slow down" before spending so much money. Graham argued the $350 billion in state and local funding would go to "blue states" because of the funding formula used in the latest round of relief. 

Among the bill's provisions: 

• Provides most Americans earning up to $75,000 a $1,400 stimulus check.  
• Extends a $300 weekly federal boost to unemployment benefits through August 
• Sends $350 billion to state and local governments whose revenue has declined because of COVID-19's impact on the economy.
• Allocates $130 billion to help fully reopen schools and colleges.
• Allots $30 billion to help renters and landlords weather economic losses. 
• Devotes $50 billion for small-business assistance. 
• Dedicates $160 billion for vaccine development, distribution and related needs. 
• Expands the child tax credit up to $3,600 per child.

The Senate went through a lengthy process known as a "vote-a-rama" prior to the final vote to propose changes to the bill.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tried to introduce an amendment increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, but it failed after a group of Democrats joined Republicans in quashing it. House Democrats had included the wage hike in their version of the bill, but a key Senate official ruled the increase could not stay in the final Senate bill.

Sanders, in a statement, said this was not the last time he would try to bring up the wage hike for a vote.

Republicans will try to take credit for legislation they refuse to vote for.

"If any senator believes this is the last time they will cast a vote on whether or not to give a raise to 32 million Americans, they are sorely mistaken. We’re going to keep bringing it up, and we’re going to get it done because it is what the American people demand and need," he said.

The Senate's final passage of the bill came after Senate Republicans threw up procedural roadblocks to try to delay it. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) had forced the Senate to read the over 600-page bill out loud on Thursday, a process which ultimately took nearly 11 hours and did not finish until early in the morning. 

A further delay occurred Friday afternoon as senators were gridlocked over changes to the bill's unemployment provisions. A compromise agreed to after hours of deliberation among Democratic senators extended unemployment benefits through the end of August at $300 per week, with the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000. 

"This bill that we are completing now is the most significant piece of legislation to benefit working people in the modern history of this country," Sanders said before the Senate passed the bill. "The people are hurting and today, we respond."