Biden’s $1.9tn Covid relief bill passes House vote

Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package has been approved by the US House of Representatives in his first legislative win.

The president’s plan to send emergency financial aid to households, small businesses, and state and local governments battered by Covid-19 passed on a near party-line 219 to 212 vote early on Saturday.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where Democrats face a challenge in their hopes of using the package to raise the minimum wage.

The American Rescue Plan would pay for vaccines and medical supplies, and Democrats said the package was needed to fight a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work.

“The American people need to know that their government is there for them,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in debate on the House floor.

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