The Senate late Wednesday unanimously passed a $2 trillion coronavirus emergency relief package, sending the measure to the House, where leaders are trying to figure out whether they can clear it for the president’s signature without summoning back all lawmakers for a roll-call vote.
The historic measure mostly earned praise from lawmakers in both parties and their leaders, who said the sweeping bill will address the most serious of the economic and health consequences of the coronavirus outbreak with a huge injection of federal dollars and lending capacity.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told lawmakers late Wednesday that the House would pass the measure by voice vote on Friday, which means they would not have to return to Washington. Republicans have apparently lined up their rank and file to agree to the terms. “Members who want to come to the House Floor to debate this bill will be able to do so. In addition, we are working to ensure that those who are unable to return to Washington may express their views on this legislation remotely. My office will send out information tomorrow with those details,” Hoyer said.
Senate leaders and Trump administration officials reached a final deal on the bill at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday after days of bipartisan talks. But a vote was delayed until late the following evening to give lawmakers a chance to read the 800-page bill and to work out last-minute objections.
Four Republican senators demanded and won a vote on an amendment to change the expanded unemployment insurance language in the bill. The Republicans, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said the bill as written would provide some workers more money to remain on unemployment insurance than if they stayed on the job, which would disincentive work, they said.
The amendment failed and earned a blistering criticism from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who said the federal minimum wage has not been raised in a decade.
“Now, I find that some of my Republican colleagues are very distressed, and they’re very upset that somebody who is making 10 to 12 bucks an hour might end up with a paycheck for four months more than they received last week,” Sanders said.
Sanders, like other lawmakers, said the bill was not exactly what he wanted but is desperately needed to address the crisis.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said massive layoffs caused by shelter-in-place orders had brought the economy to a halt.
“This strange new reality has forced our nation onto something like a wartime footing,” McConnell said. “A fight has arrived on our shores. We did not seek it. We did not want it. But now, we are going to win it.”
McConnell, in his closing speech before the vote, announced the Senate would shutter until April 20, with only pro forma sessions taking place, unless there is a need for lawmakers to return sooner.
His top lieutenant, Majority Whip John Thune, a Republican of South Dakota, had already returned home after feeling unwell, while other senators warned continued business in the Capitol was a risk to everyone’s health.
“Our nation is obviously going through a kind of crisis that is totally unprecedented in living memory,” McConnell said. “Let’s stay connected and continue to collaborate on the best ways to keep helping our states and our country through this pandemic. Let’s continue to pray for one another, for all of our families, and for our country.”
House Democratic leaders haven’t announced when they will vote on the measure. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told rank-and-file members he would provide 24 hours notice ahead of the vote.
Lawmakers are hoping to voice-vote the measure, which would allow members to debate the bill but would not require a roll-call vote.
A roll-call vote would require members to fly back to D.C. and gather in the Capitol, risking further spread of the virus, which has infected two House members and one senator and has pushed dozens of lawmakers into quarantine.
Voice-vote passage can be blocked by any member, however, and some Republicans and Democrats said they have objections to the measure.
Pelosi suggested in a CNN interview Wednesday the House could attempt a “vote by proxy” maneuver that would allow one lawmaker to vote for another, but that kind of change would likely require a full floor vote to assure it does not face legal challenges. The full House has never voted by proxy.
