WASHINGTON, D.C.- The House has passed the $2 trillion emergency spending bill to combat the economic impact of coronavirus, sending the measure to President Trump for enactment.
Democrats and Republicans both backed the bill, which is designed to provide temporary relief for households and businesses reeling by the sudden economic downturn. President Trump has signaled he will sign it into law immediately.
Friday’s vote Friday on the economic relief package to address fallout from the coronavirus saw scores of lawmakers begrudgingly returning to the Capitol after one GOP member threatened to raise a procedural objection. With the economy reeling and millions of Americans seeking unemployment benefits, House leaders had hoped to pass the sweeping measure by a “voice vote” that would not require members to show up in person.
Those who wanted to, could come to the Capitol to speak in favor of or against the legislation that will send $1,200 payments to many Americans and free up large loans for businesses of every size.
If they used a “voice vote,” members in quarantine or who simply did not want to travel would not have to do so. There are now roughly 86,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, and 1,300 people have died just in the past few weeks.
But Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) threatened to raise procedural objections that would require a majority of the House to be present to quash, and so on Thursday evening leadership in both parties began urging members who could do so to return to Washington in order to have the numbers to overcome whatever objection Massie might raise. For several hours after the House opened at 9 a.m. Massie sat in the back of the chamber without indicating how he planned to proceed -- even after President Trump unloaded on him over Twitter, calling him a “grandstander” who should be ejected from the Republican Party.
Shortly before noon House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) cornered Massie for a private conversation in the chamber. Not long after, Massie said over Twitter that he’d “sworn an oath to the Constitution” and therefore would be demanding a recorded vote, arguing that the Constitution “requires that a quorum of members be present to conduct business in the House.”
The House often passes bills by unanimous consent without a quorum. Not this time. As Massie made his intentions clear, lawmakers of both parties began filing into the House chamber and public galleries in order to be able to establish a quorum -- or a majority of the House, in this case 216 members because of a few absences -- while also trying to maintain social distancing.
Many were furious at Massie. “It’s an act of vanity and selfishness that goes beyond comprehension,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), saying Massie was putting people’s health at risk and forcing the House to model poor public health procedures. “He should be ashamed of himself and the country should scorn him.”
The final stages of the legislative process caused consternation in Congress, as many lawmakers fretted about shuttling back and forth in a country where many people are sheltered at home. Some New Yorkers returned to Washington even though the federal government has said people from that state should quarantine for 14 days after leaving.
A notice sent out late Thursday by Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer’s office stated that, “There is now a possibility that a House Republican may suggest a quorum is not present and attempt to call for a recorded vote on final passage. We have notified our Members of the possibility that the bill may not pass by voice vote. The Majority Leader’s Office has sent a notice to Members that if they are able and willing to be in Washington, DC by 10 a.m. tomorrow, they are encouraged to do so, while exercising all due caution.”
Massie said Thursday that he opposed the bill, approved unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday, as it would add to the national debt. Under House rules, with a quorum present, Massie could not force an actual recorded roll call vote unless 20 percent of the members there agreed with him. That is not expected to happen.
Many members were not happy about needing to come back to the tight quarters of the Capitol. Two members have tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and a number of others were quarantined after showing symptoms or coming into contact with potentially infected individuals.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote on Twitter that "Heading to the airport now to vote in DC. am going just like every person that picks our food, works at a hospital, picks up the garbage."
He wrote that he was returning to Washington “because it is my [expletive] job. But I get a comfortable salary, our essential workers should get same.”
As some members boarded red-eyes or early flights, others were making long drives.
The House Sergeant at Arms set out strict procedures for Friday’s proceedings in the House, including urging members and staff to maintain a six-foot distance from one another and limiting access to the House Chamber to those scheduled to speak at any given time. Members were urged to use the stairs instead of elevators, which at normal times are stuffed with lawmakers rubbing shoulders with one another. The Speaker’s Lobby, the area off the floor where reporters gather in crowds to interview lawmakers, will be shut.
The developments Friday were just the latest twist for a bill that underwent a week of contentious negotiations in the Senate before ultimately passing 96-0 on Wednesday night.
The bill contains multiple provisions aimed at propping up an economy shuddering from the impacts of the coronavirus, which has sent jobless claims skyrocketing and the stock market plummeting as many Americans stay in their homes to avoid contracting or spreading covid-19.
More than 150 million households would receive checks under the legislation, which will send payments of $1,200 to many individual Americans plus $500 for children. People with incomes above $99,000 are not eligible, and the total benefit is phased out for people earning between $75,000 and $99,000.
The bill includes almost $400 billion to help small businesses retain their payrolls and $250 billion to boost unemployment insurance, offering $600 per week for four months for laid-off workers, on top of whatever benefits their states may provide.
It contains hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency federal aid for large corporations suffering due to the coronavirus outbreak, a provision that sparked days of intense partisan conflict and a frenzied push from lobbyists and corporations eager to secure a chunk of the funding.
The final legislation will provide $25 billion in grants and $25 billion in loans to passenger airlines; $17 billion in loans to industries deemed critical to “national security” — a provision aimed at helping Boeing — and $425 billion in loans and loan guarantees for other large firms, a fund for which cities and states can also apply.
Trump touted the legislation in an interview Thursday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
“The workers are going to get $3,000 for a family of four. They’re going to get all sorts of things that they, frankly, in many cases, they wouldn’t have even gotten if they had the job, if they didn’t have to go through this hell. And it’s — it’s a wonderful thing,” Trump said.
The president went on to say “A lot of this money is going to save Boeing. It’s going to save the airline industry. And, you know, that means not only does it mean what it says, it also means tremendous jobs. We can’t let Boeing go. You know, Boeing had a problem, big one to start off with, and on top of it, this happened. And we’ll save Boeing and we’ll save the airlines and we’ll save other companies.”
The conditions on the large pool of funding became a major sticking point through congressional negotiations. Democrats won some concessions but not others. In the final bill, businesses receiving the loan cannot cut their employment levels by more than 10 percent until Sept. 30. They have some restrictions on executive compensation above $425,000 annually and cannot issue stock buybacks, a limitation supported by Trump.
Included are measures ensuring swift disclosure of funding recipients, as well as an oversight board to probe the Treasury’s decisions. The president, vice president, members of Congress and members of the cabinet are also prohibited from benefiting from the aid — a measure that also applies to their spouses and children. The direct grant funding for the airlines also has strict limitations and is required to go directly to workers or their benefits.
As Massie sat in the Chamber on Friday, one lawmaker after another, Republican and Democrat, stood up to insist the severity of the crisis required immediate action.
“Congress must act aggressively and work together now,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas).
Two podiums were set up for speakers during debate, with a hand sanitizer bottle under the podium and a canister of disinfectant wipes on the chair next to the podium. When each speaker finished, he or she took their turn wiping down the podium and the microphone from which they were speaking, before giving way to the next speaker.
With tensions running high, there was an uproar at one point as Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), tried to speak over her allotted time, wearing pink latex gloves and gesturing in animation as she asked for more time to thank medical professionals at the frontline of the crisis.”
“I rise before you donning these latex gloves not for personal attention, not for personal attention, but to encourage you to take this disease seriously,” Stevens shouted as she was gaveled out of order. “I rise for every American who is scared right now.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), from the epicenter of the health crisis in Queens, rose to denounce the bill and the choice lawmakers are being forced to make faced with legislation that she said creates a corporate bailout while also provided needed funds to hospitals and front-line workers.
“Our community’s reality is this country’s future if we don’t do anything. Hospital workers don’t have the necessary equipment,” she said, calling it “shameful, and the option that we have is either to let them suffer with nothing or allow this greed.”
