ARLINGTON, Va. –The giant pandemic relief bill being pushed by the Biden Administration and the Democrats should pass a House vote this week and hit the Senate floor by mid-March, NAFCU is forecasting.
But there will certainly be hurdles long the way for the package officially known as the American Rescue Plan, said NAFCU EVP and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, including keeping the total cost of the bill under its currently proposed price tag of $1.9 trillion as members of Congress look to make changes or insert their own priorities into the huge stimulus package.
“There are a lot of technical things that could happen,” observed Hunt, such as the insertion of language related to the minimum wage that could snag progress.
With a majority in the House, Democrats are expected to vote to use the reconciliation process to pass the legislation by the end of this week and then send it on to the Senate.
Things are more precarious in the Senate, where a lack of support from just one Democratic senator for the package could doom it, as the Senate is split 50/50 between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have already expressed opposition and have put forward a smaller relief package of their own.
Fed Chair Pushes for Relief
Separately, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell has stated in recent remarks he is supportive of the additional stimulus to kickstart the economy’s recovery from the coronavirus, and is expected to repeat his call for stimulus when he testifies separately before the House and Senate this week.