Live stimulus bill updates: House to begin final debates over COVID-19 stimulus bill

The House of Representatives is poised to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan with $1,400 checks, billions for vaccines, and funding money to reopen schools as early as Tuesday evening. 

The House Rules Committee must first set the parameters for debate, and then the House must vote to approve the rules of debate over the bill. Once the House approves the rules for debate, lawmakers will first debate the bill and then vote on final passage, which could happen late in the night Tuesday. 

The Senate passed the bill over the weekend after a marathon session. Once the House has passed the legislation, it will go to Biden for his signature, and then stimulus checks will start to go out in a matter of weeks. Biden said Monday that he would sign the legislation “as soon as I get it.” 

The House first passed the bill at the end of February. The Senate took it up the next week and made changes to the bill’s provisions. The changes mean the House had to pass the bill again. If the House does not make any changes of its own, then the bill can go straight to Biden for his final signature. 

Once the bill is signed into law, $1,400 stimulus checks could start going out in a number of weeks if they follow the same timeline as previous rounds. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the Biden administration was still working through the “mechanics” of sending out checks.  

– Nicholas Wu and Michael Collins

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