Headlines for March 8, 2021

The Senate passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package Saturday 50 to 49, with no Republicans voting in favor of the legislation. The bill includes $1,400 direct payments for individuals making under $75,000, or couples making twice that, but will be cut off for anyone making more than $80,000, or $160,000 for couples filing taxes jointly — a significantly lower cap than the House’s version. The Senate also extended federal unemployment benefits at $300 a week, down from the $400 approved by the House. The legislation expands the child tax credit and provides funding for vaccine distribution, testing, as well as local governments and schools. The bill passed by the Senate does not include a $15-an-hour minimum wage increase. Eight members of the Democratic Caucus joined all Republicans in voting down Senator Bernie Sanders’s amendment to include the minimum wage hike to the bill: West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Delaware’s Chris Coons and Tom Carper, New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, Montana’s Jon Tester, Maine’s Angus King and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema. The bill will go back before the House Tuesday before heading to Biden’s desk.