After 15 hours of negotiation, the Senate approved shortly after 5:30 am on Friday the budget project for fiscal year 2021. With this, the Upper House
prepares the way for the approval of the proposal of 1.9 billion dollars of the president, Joe Biden.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the Senate, cast her first two tie-breaking votes tonight, including the approval of said budget bill.
Other approved amendments
Before reaching an agreement on this issue, the senators voted about 40 amendments.
Among them,
the majority approved grants for restaurants and bars affected by COVID-19
(with 90 votes in favor and 10 against).
Also,
the majority voted against raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
Senators backed Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst's amendment and at least one Democrat, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin III, opposed it.
"A federal minimum wage of $ 15 would be devastating to our hardest hit small businesses at a time when they can least afford it," Ernst told the Senate floor.
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the main proponent of the proposal, said his plan is to carry out the increase over five years.
"We have to end the starvation wage crisis in Iowa and across America," Sanders responded.
[Biden's plan calls for sending the $ 1,400 aid check only to those making less than $ 50,000]
One of the approved amendments (with 99 votes in favor and one against) is to
prevent "high income" taxpayers
(
income level
not specified)
from being entitled to direct payments of $ 1,400
proposed by Biden.
The House of Representatives must now act on the Senate version.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat Jim Clyburn and the chairpersons of the relevant committees are heading to the White House this Friday morning to
meet with the President
and discuss the pandemic aid package, two sources assured our sister network NBC News.
Once the proposal passes, Congress can get down to business writing Biden's broad proposal into law, and pushing it through the Senate without Republican votes, if necessary.
[Democrats speed up process to pass aid package]
Biden's proposal
The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday that Congress approve the stimulus package promoted by the president without the need for Republican support.
Although the bill is still being negotiated to achieve the maximum possible support, some details are already known, including that it will include a third direct aid check, valued at $ 1,400, but that, unlike the previous ones, will not reach all people.
Biden met with Democratic congressmen this week to discuss the possibility of reducing the groups that would be eligible to receive stimulus checks, in line with requirements previously made by Republican senators.
With information from AP, The Washngton Post and The New York Times.