WASHINGTON \u2014 A Congress riven along party lines approved a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a triumph on a bill that marshals the government\u2019s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill without a single Republican vote. GOP lawmakers opposed the package as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the crises are easing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most noticeable to many Americans are provisions to provide up to $1,400 direct payments this year to most adults and extend $300 per week emergency unemployment benefits into early September. But the legislation goes far beyond that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The measure addresses Democrats\u2019 campaign promises and Biden\u2019s top initial priority of easing a one-two punch that first hit the country a year ago. Since then, many Americans have been relegated to hermit-like lifestyles in their homes to avoid a disease that\u2019s killed over 525,000 people \u2014 about the population of Wichita, Kansas \u2014 and plunged the economy to its deepest depths since the Great Depression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday we have a decision to make of tremendous consequence,\u201d said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., \u201ca decision that will make a difference for millions of Americans, saving lives and livelihoods.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\t