President Joe Biden's US$1.9 trillion ($2.64 trillion) relief bill to help Americans deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has passed Congress.
US President Joe Biden says the government needs to "go big" in order to boost the flagging economy. Photo: AFP
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has approved the massive economic aid plan this morning despite a lack of Republican support.
Democrats passed the bill on a party line vote of 220 to 211 - no republicans voted in favour.
The bill includes individual stimulus payments up to around $2000 per person and a couple with two children could receive up to almost US$8000.
Having already passed the Senate, the relief package will now head to Biden's desk to be signed into law.
Americans could see the financial aid hit their bank accounts within days of Biden signing the bill.
This sixth Covid-19 bill is a major legislative win for Biden.
The effort is broadly popular among Americans. According to a March Pew Research Center poll, 70 percent of US adults surveyed expressed support for the bill, including 41 percent of Republicans.
But Republicans in Congress objected to the bill's price tag.
They called for various elements of the package to be smaller and more targeted, including suggesting stimulus cheques should not go to people who have not lost income in the past year.
"House Democrats have abandoned any pretence of unity," House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said on the floor ahead of the vote.
"After five relief bills, it is on track to be the first passed by strictly party lines."
He noted it was the most expensive single bill in US history.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi raps her gavel after the House voted to pass coronavirus relief package. Photo: AFP
When announcing the so-called American Rescue Plan in January, Biden said the government needed to "go big" in order to boost the flagging economy.
Democrats - who control both chambers of Congress by narrow margins - had largely stuck together and managed to retain most of what was initially proposed.
The final bill includes one-off direct payments worth US$1400 to be sent off to most Americans and extends weekly jobless benefits until September.
It also allocates US$350bn to state and local governments, some US$130bn to school reopening, $49bn for expanded Covid-19 testing and research, as well as $14bn for vaccine distribution.
A proposal to raise the national minimum wage from US$7.25 to US$15 per hour became a sticking point in the Senate and did not make it into the final version of the bill.
America's worst public health crisis in a century has left more than 527,000 people dead and over 29 million infected.
Unemployment skyrocketed over the last year, with a current rate of 6.2 percent, according to the US Labor Department.
- Reuters