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US House to Vote Wednesday to Approve Coronavirus Relief Deal

Ken Bredemeier

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives is nearing a final vote
   on the Senate-approved version of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion
   coronavirus relief package, which is designed to give a new financial
   boost to millions of American families and businesses.

   The Democratic Party-controlled House is expected to vote on the
   measure early Wednesday, clearing the legislation for Biden to sign. It
   would give him a major legislative victory less than two months into
   his presidency.

   "It's really just a matter of paperwork. But we are going to have a
   vote as soon as we can," Democratic Congresswoman Katherine Clark, the
   assistant House speaker, told CNN.

   In politically divided Washington, Biden's plan narrowly cleared the
   Senate last weekend, after the chamber altered some aspects of the
   version approved earlier by the House. The House now is expected to
   approve the Senate-adopted legislation without further changes and
   solely with Democratic votes over unified Republican opposition.

   Biden has lobbied his fellow Democrats in Congress to adopt the massive
   spending measure, one of the largest ever considered by Congress.
   Republican lawmakers say the package is too large and does not
   sufficiently target Americans who most need the money.
   President Joe Biden speaks with Mary Anna Ackley, Owner of Little Wild
   Things Farm, left, and Michael Siegel, Co-owner of W.S. Jenks &
   Son, right, March 9, 2021, in Washington.

   The package includes $1,400 checks for all but the highest-earning
   adults in the country, and $3,000 or $3,600 to children, depending on
   their age. Unemployed workers will continue to get $300-a-week national
   government payments into early September on top of state assistance.
   State and city governments will get $350 billion to help them recover
   from the pandemic.

   In addition, tens of billions of dollars will fund coronavirus testing
   and contact tracing, as well as vaccine distribution, along with new
   aid for businesses that have been hard hit by directives that curtailed
   their operations over the last year.

   Biden visited a hardware store in Washington on Tuesday that has
   benefited from a pandemic-related paycheck protection loan program.

   Compared to coronavirus relief approved last year, Biden says the
   newest legislation targets loans more narrowly to small businesses. He
   said a lot of "mom-and-pop businesses got muscled out of the way by
   bigger companies that jumped in front of the line" a year ago.

   White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki praised the legislation at a news
   conference Monday, saying that while there were some changes on the
   margins as the Senate acted, it represented the "core"of what Biden
   originally proposed.

   On Tuesday, she said Biden and other senior administration officials
   plan to continue to tout the benefits of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus
   relief plan after it passes.

   "We certainly recognize that we can't just sign a bill," she told
   reporters. "We will need to do some work and use our best voices,
   including the president, the vice president and others, to communicate
   to the American people the benefits of this package, how they can
   benefit from the package, how they can have access to [stimulus]
   checks."

   "So, I think you can certainly expect the president to be doing some
   travel, and we'll have more details on that in the coming days," she
   said.