The US Senate began Thursday the examination of the gigantic stimulus package wanted by Joe Biden with the exhaustive reading of more than 600 pages of the text on the request of Republicans opposed to the bill, which should be adopted in the coming days thanks to the democratic voices.
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US Vice-President Kamala Harris had to intervene, as authorized by the Constitution, to decide the vote authorizing the opening of the debates, because the 50 Democratic senators had voted in favor, and the 50 Republicans against.
A taste of the tight votes to come during the marathon expected in the hemicycle by Monday.
“The American rescue plan, 2021. (...) Chapter 1;
Commission on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, ”
the Clerk began reading, at the request of Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
It should take about 10 hours to read the 628 pages.
The upper house will then have 20 hours to debate the text.
Then the senators will begin a new marathon, nicknamed "vote-a-rama", when they can propose amendments and demand a vote on each.
"No matter how long it takes, the Senate will remain in session to see this bill through to the end this week,"
said Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, convinced that he has enough votes to approve the
bill.
text.
Confident Nancy Pelosi
The House of Representatives approved at dawn on Saturday, thanks to the votes of the Democrats alone, the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan wanted by Joe Biden to support the world's largest economy, hit by the pandemic.
The text debated in the Senate no longer includes the increase in the minimum wage and notably reduces the number of Americans likely to receive a check for 1,400 dollars.
The Congressional Budget Services (CBO) had not yet published their estimate of the cost of this revised text this Thursday afternoon.
The Democratic President of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi appears certain that her parliamentary group will then definitively approve the recovery plan.
"We will review it and then send it to the president,"
she said on Thursday.
Republicans find these measures too expensive and not targeted enough.
"The vast majority of it all has nothing to do with the Covid,"
Ron Johnson accused Thursday, justifying his request to read the entire text.
"I am sorry for the clerks but it is important",
he added, stressing that the senators had not yet read the text.
