Kathmandu. February 7. The US Senate and the House have passed the budget intended to aid in Biden’s USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 emergency relief plan. 

The reconciliation voting-based approval system enabled Biden to quickly deliver the aid without the support of Republicans. Republicans have been opposing Biden’s bill claiming it to be too expensive. 

Biden stated that it is necessary to move quickly to deliver the aid but congressional Republicans are probably not fast enough to deal with the situation. ‘I want to work with the republicans but, I don’t want to delay,’ noted Biden.

The bill includes,

• USD 400 Billion for Covid-19 vaccines and testings
• USD 1 Trillion as direct relief to families ($1,400 stimulus cheques and unemployment insurances)
• USD 440 Billion as an aid to communities and businesses

Biden’s legislation had to pass through a major debate during Friday’s morning session at the Senate. The tie-breaking vote to make it 51-50 was cast by Vice President Kamala Harris. 

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the bill could provide nearly all American families with checks up to USD 300 per child. This would lift nearly 10 million children above the poverty line and cut child poverty by nearly 50%. 

The United States has been harshly hit by the pandemic. More than 26.9 million viral cases and 4 Lakhs 62 thousand deaths have been reported so far. Last month, It was ranked 94 out of 98 countries in the Covid Performance Index(CPI), calculated by Australian think tank Lowy Institute.