![]() Right-leaning experts argue Democrats cut out Republicans from the drafting process. That allows bills to be approved in the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of 60. Democrats pushed through the legislation using a maneuver known as budget reconciliation. Many economists say that step stymied the economic recovery for several years, an experience that Democrats are determined to avoid now. However, it eventually garnered the support of three Republican senators in the upper chamber as Democrats at the time pressed to keep the bill's price tag in check over deficit concerns. Every House Republican voted against the bill in February 2009. Nearly a decade ago, President Barack Obama pushed through an $800 billion stimulus package aimed at stemming the freefall of the American economy after the financial crisis. After six emergency spending bills totaling $5 trillion, the economy's trajectory is starting to trend upward, though there are 10 million fewer jobs compared to the onset of the crisis.īut Republicans are pushing to slam the brakes on any further government spending in an echo of recent years. ![]() The bill's path through the House and Senate illustrates the widening gulf between Republicans and Democrats in Congress a year into the pandemic. "This isn't a rescue bill it isn't a relief bill it is a laundry list of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said during a floor speech Wednesday. Republicans blasted the plan as a partisan wishlist replete with untargeted spending. The legislation encountered a brick wall of GOP opposition as every House Republican voted against it. The House voted 220-211 to approve the relief legislation in mostly party-line vote on Wedensday. ![]() Not a single Republican lawmaker in either chamber voted in favor of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion economic aid package over the past few weeks, reflecting their fierce opposition to an early Democratic legislative priority. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. ![]()
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