For the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic, people all over the country have been struggling financially. Americans have been calling on politicians to provide stimulus checks to sustain their income as the pandemic ravages jobs. 

According to the Washington Post, at the start of the pandemic, former President Donald Trump signed the $2 trillion Cares Act, allotting for $1,200 stimulus checks. Near the end of his term, Trump then passed a COVID-19 relief bill that covered $600 stimulus checks. Many Americans feel that the limited $1,200 checks and the low $600 checks were not adequate in many cases. When President Joe Biden was elected, his supporters called on him to continue and increase the stimulus checks. On Saturday, March 6, the Senate approved a COVID-19 relief bill proposed by Biden, costing $1.9 trillion. 

To summarize, the bill will allot $1,400 checks per taxpayer and $1,400 per dependent, according to the Associated Press. These checks will be distributed to those with a yearly income of $75,000. It will also provide more extensive unemployment benefits. The bill will also provide money for schools to remodel classrooms and decrease class sizes to allow for more social distancing in grades K-12. For college students, this money will go toward providing food, housing, and learning materials during the pandemic.  

The bill will also expand testing for COVID-19 and speed up the distribution of the vaccine. It provides money for enhanced contact tracing and new equipment and lab materials for researchers. The bill will also increase coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and attempt to get Republican states to increase participation. 

This bill faced strong opposition from the Republican party, who see it as too expensive. However, this bill was approved in a vote of 50-49, moving it one step closer toward implementation. The bill will now move to the House of Representatives, where it will be voted on and, if approved, enacted. 

For more updates on this COVID-19 relief bill and Biden’s presidency, check out www.smnw.com.