- We expect the message to be delivered sometime tomorrow and then the president will sign on Friday, says the White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday evening (Swedish time).
The "American Rescue Plan" package means that hundreds of millions of Americans can look forward to relief checks of up to SEK 12,000.
- This means that we can get the checks, starting this month, to the American people who so desperately need help, Biden said the other day.
Already this weekend, the second chamber of Congress, the Senate, voted by the smallest possible margin through the support package.
Long debate
The proposal then went to the House of Representatives.
At first it was said that the vote would take place already on Tuesday, but the difficulties of rowing ashore such a huge package meant that the vote was postponed until Wednesday.
In a preparatory vote on Tuesday evening, however, 219 members voted, against 210, to proceed with the proposal.
No Republican gave a thumbs up, and only one Democrat voted no.
"This is a remarkable, historic, transformative piece of legislation that goes a long way in crushing the virus and solving our economic crisis," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said afterwards.
"Too expensive"
The direct payments of a maximum of 1,400 dollars (equivalent to approximately 12,000 kronor) will reach almost all Americans.
People who have an annual income of $ 75,000 or less receive the full amount and then it is reduced.
Anyone who earns more than $ 100,000 a year will not receive a check, according to CNBC.
The aid package also includes unemployment benefits, investments in vaccines and infection tracing, as well as support for states and small businesses.
Help for schools, so that they can open safely, as well as tax breaks for families with children that are reminiscent of the Swedish child allowance are also included - among other things.
Even before the stimulus package reached the Senate, however, Democratic leaders were forced to give up one of the big questions they had hoped to get into writing;
an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
Some Democrats also voted against.