Democrats’ sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill cleared its only remaining hurdle on Wednesday: The U.S. House of Representatives approved the final version of the legislation on a nearly party-line vote of 220 to 211. Not one Republican supported it, while just a lone Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), joined them in opposition. The so-called American Rescue Plan will now be sent to President Joe Biden’s desk; he is expected to sign it—and thus fulfill one of his top campaign promises—on Friday. The House was the first chamber to approve the mammoth legislation, but after the Senate modified the bill, lawmakers had to vote on it again. In the process, the relief package was stripped of a minimum-wage increase and more generous unemployment benefits.
