Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico was confirmed last evening as Secretary of Interior. With her confirmation, she becomes the first Native American to serve as Cabinet Secretary.
Read more about her, her confirmation, and some of the challenges she faces in her new role here, here, and here. She is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.
Earlier this afternoon, the House adopted by a vote of 220 to 211 H. R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This is the version that was approved by the Senate last Saturday. The legislation, the highest priority of the new Administration, will now be sent to the White House for President Biden’s signature. The goal of the Biden Administration and the Democratic Congress alike was to get signed into law a new relief package before the enhanced federal unemployment benefits expire at the end of Sunday.
A summary of the provisions of most interest has been compiled by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and is available here.
After a marathon session during which scores of amendments were considered and voted on, the Senate finally cleared its COVID relief bill on Saturday by a vote of 50 to 49. The Senate made a number of modifications to the House-passed measure, meaning that this version must now be sent back to the House for its approval before it can become law. With the current set of enhanced federal unemployment benefits running out next Monday, the goal of the Congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration is to have President Biden sign the final bill into law by Sunday.
Read more about the Senate changes and next steps in the process here, here, here, and here.
After a floor debate that lasted into early Saturday morning Eastern Time, the House passed H.R. 1319, the Biden Administration’s initial COVID relief bill. In the end, the vote was 219 – 212, with two Democrats joining all Republicans in opposing the package.
The legislation now heads to the Senate, where the minimum wage provisions will need to be stricken due to a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian. Other provisions may change along the way as well.
The goal of the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats is to get a bill signed into law by by March 14, when the enhanced unemployment insurance payments are scheduled to end.