President Biden on Thursday signed into law a $1.9 trillion spending package he claims is needed to give the coronavirus-slowed economy a jolt, a bill that Republicans say is too hefty and loaded with wasteful pork.
The measure is one of the largest such packages in U.S. history and came with warnings from Republicans and some economists that its size might “overheat” the economy. Nevertheless, Biden and top other administration officials took the first in a series of victory laps as they look to sell the already popular measure to the public.
“It’s clear that an overwhelming percentage of American people … have made it clear, the people out there, have made it clear they support the American Rescue Plan,” he said before signing it, saying that “their voices were heard” when the House sent it to his desk with a party-line vote on Wednesday. The president said the measure would give “working people … a fighting chance.”
He called blue-collar workers the biggest winners in the “historic legislation,” describing them as the “backbone of” America and the “ones who built” the United States.
The measure includes $1,400 for eligible residents, an extension of unemployment insurance, $350 billion to help cash-strapped state and local government, and new funds for COVID-19 testing. It also will provide $130 billion to help K-12 schools reopen and another $40 billion in assistance for colleges and universities.
The White House had initially planned for the president to sign the measure on Friday, but it moved putting pen-to-paper up a day after Congress fully processed it faster than administration officials had expected. The measure is indeed popular among most people, with 70% giving it a favorable rating in a recent Pew Research Center survey and 28% holding a negative view. But it is less popular among GOP voters, with 41% in favor and 57% opposed. That poll found 94% of Democrats support the bill.
IN FIRST PRIME-TIME ADDRESS, BIDEN TO ‘LEVEL’ WITH THE PUBLIC ON COVID-19 NEXT STEPS
Biden will still headline a larger signing ceremony on Friday at the White House. That will come after a Thursday prime-time address, during which the president will “level” with the public about the pandemic’s toll and what he sees as the next steps to combat it.
He did not take reporters’ questions as he, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, signed the legislation at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. But Biden suggested he would do so, possibly as early as Friday at that signing ceremony.
Senior White House officials, including Harris and first lady Jill Biden, are expected to pan out across the country in the coming weeks to sell the measure and explain how people can access the assistance measures that it contains.
Republicans, however, say the White House could have worked with them to deliver a more-targeted measure of about half (or even less) of the $1.9 trillion size.
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady has called the measure “pork-filled” and warned that its aid for state and local governments will prevent any federal tax cuts for a half-decade.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had criticized the measure as unnecessary since even before congressional Democratic leaders and the White House opted to pass it using only Democratic votes via a fast-track procedure. On Thursday, he accused Democrats of playing politics with nearly $2 trillion of taxpayer funds.
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“The American people already built a parade that’s been marching toward victory,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “Democrats just want to sprint in front of the parade and claim credit.”
