Congress Approves Budget, Paving the Way For Biden's COVID-19 Relief Package

The House quickly approved a budget resolution intended to speed the drafting of President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

The Senate approved the same budget resolution early Friday morning. With the Senate evenly divided, Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote.

Democrats are planning to use a feature of the budget process called reconciliation to pass the legislation with a simple majority in the Senate, meaning it could be approved entirely along party lines. The process is expected to last weeks and key components face calls for changes, including how to distribute another round of direct payments.

On Friday, Biden said he does not think congressional Republicans were prepared to deal quickly enough with his economic proposal and said he and Democrats would move quickly to deliver the aid.