Biden's COVID Relief Bill Faces Senate Hurdles

Ayesha Rascoe, NPR White House correspondent, updated Steve Inskeep on the Senate's consideration of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, which counts as the first big legislation of President Joe Biden's presidency. The House passed the bill over the weekend, but with no Republican support, and it now moves to the Senate under a procedure that allows it to pass with no Republican votes. However, this procedure does not allow passage of the entire bill, which is why the higher minimum wage is out of it.

Key Takeaways:

• The Senate will consider the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, which was passed by the House with no Republican support.
• The bill does not include a higher minimum wage, due to a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian that it does not count as a part of a budget bill.
• President Biden has expressed disappointment with the parliamentarian's ruling, but the White House has signaled that it will not challenge it.
• Senate Democrats have abandoned efforts to impose tax penalties on big companies that don't raise their minimum wage.
• The rest of the measure includes $1.9 trillion in aid to Americans, help with COVID, and a deadline for passage before extended federal unemployment benefits expire in mid-March.
• The bill's passage is crucial to President Biden's agenda and his promise to act quickly and boldly to combat the virus.

Statistics:

• $1.9 trillion: The amount of aid included in the COVID relief bill.
• 2 weeks: The time frame for the Senate to pass the bill before extended federal unemployment benefits expire.
• 50%: The undercount of nursing home deaths in New York state due to Governor Cuomo's administration's handling of the pandemic.

Sources:

• BYLINE: AYESHA RASCOE HOST: STEVE INSKEEP (NPR White House correspondent introducing the topic)
• STEVE INSKEEP: ...The Senate considers COVID relief this week. (Citing the source)
• AYESHA RASCOE: Good morning. (Citing the source)