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| - US lawmakers began their final vote Wednesday to pass Joe Biden's enormous economic relief package, which would deliver a resounding victory for the president and desperately needed cash to millions of families and businesses enduring the coronavirus pandemic. The $1.9 trillion plan, months in the making, is one of the largest US rescue packages ever, and will impact every aspect of the world's biggest economy for years to come. Democrats say they are meeting a historic moment of crisis head on, funneling federal dollars into vaccine distribution, opening schools, salvaging businesses and helping struggling Americans "This is a critical moment in our country's history," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said minutes before the vote, which began at 1:25 pm (1825 GMT) and is expected to last some 45 minutes. "Help is on the way -- for the people, for the children," she added. While Republicans stood in lockstep in opposition, progressive and moderate Democrats have managed to remain united in order to get the measure to Biden's desk for his signature days before critical unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans. The White House said Biden -- who made the American Rescue Plan his top legislative priority -- planned to sign the measure into law on Friday. The plan funds Covid-19 vaccines, preserves unemployment benefits for millions, sends stimulus checks of up to $1,400 to most Americans and expands federal funding for health care. It also extends eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, increases food aid and sets aside $130 billion for schools. And Democrats argue that the bill's child tax credit expansion would slash child poverty by up to 50 percent. Republican lawmakers decry what they call the bill's "socialist agenda" and its massive cost, saying more than 90 percent does not go to directly combatting Covid-19. One congressman warned that the $1.9 trillion price tag amounts to $5,487 for every man, woman and child in the country. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the plan "a long laundry list of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of the American families." But Americans outside Washington see it very differently. Polls show overwhelming bipartisan support among voters for the bill, which also includes extensions of rental and mortgage assistance, help for small businesses and schools, and billions of dollars for state and local governments. Nevertheless, Biden is signaling that he will soon hit the road on a mission to sell the package to the American people. "Keep the faith, folks," Biden tweeted Wednesday. "We will get through this." A day earlier, Biden visited a business billed as Washington's oldest hardware store, which has benefitted from the Paycheck Protection Program begun under Donald Trump's administration to help businesses stay afloat during the crisis. "We're going to continue this," Biden said of the PPP as he chatted with store owner Mike Siegel. The administration says it will tailor the program so that it focuses on businesses with 20 employees or fewer. The last congressional plan to fight the coronavirus, which has to date left more than 527,000 dead in the United States and brought the economy to its knees, was enacted in December. It expanded unemployment payments and extended them through March 14. That deadline has loomed as Biden and congressional Democrats crafted their latest package, but it appears they will meet it and extend the benefits until early September. Democratic leaders have hailed the American Rescue Plan as historic and transformative. Progressive Democrats had pushed for higher supplemental unemployment benefits of $400, but after a last-minute standoff with a moderate Democrat, the Senate kept the payments at $300 a week. With the bill's passage likely, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development sharply raised its 2021 global growth forecast Tuesday amid greatly improved economic prospects. OECD says it now expects the global economy to grow by 5.6 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from its December forecast. And it sees the US economy climbing by 6.5 percent this year, nearly double its previous forecast. mlm/sst
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