House Passes $3 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill Which the Senate Will Ignore

The U.S. House of Representatives voted for a historic $3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, known as the HEROES Act, which passed by a narrow margin of 208-199 yesterday. The massive bill, which is nearly 2,000 pages, provides a wide array of government assistance. $1 trillion would be allocated to state and local governments, $200 billion would be earmarked for hazard pay for essential workers, and $75 billion would go towards COVID-19 testing and tracing. Another $25 billion would bail out the postal service, and over $300 billion would go towards relief pay for Americans.

The bill is the largest and most expensive relief package congress has passed in its history. The House also made history by passing a law to allow members to vote remotely, which seems like a no-brainer during pandemic times. Now, a member of the House can vote for 10 of their fellow lawmakers, and committees can now hold hearings and markups via video conference.

The lack of remote voting has brought congress to a standstill for nearly two months, with little legislation being debated or voted on outside of previous relief bills. Now, some form of congressional business can resume.

While the massive relief bill offers a variety of much needed government assistance, many progressive dems voted against the bill for omitting what they saw as essential additions. One such addition, the Paycheck Guarantee Act spearheaded by Pramila Jayapal, would have guaranteed 100% coverage of worker’s wages for up to a year.

But while the historic bill has passed in the House, grim reaper Mitch McConnell has made it clear that he will kill the bill in the Senate, saying “I don’t think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately”.

But as the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down, republicans will be forced to contend with this in November. Yet another great reminder to register to vote.

(via CNN, image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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