Democrats Set to Advance Pandemic Relief Bill as Congress Approves Budget

The Senate passed a budget resolution very early Friday morning, a key step for the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal without any Republican votes. The 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie, came after an all-night marathon "vote-a-arama."

The "vote-a-rama" included 41 votes with dozens of amendments considered. Harris cast her first tie-breaking votes as vice president, allowing the resolution to finally pass shortly before 6 a.m. with support from all 50 Democratic senators.

The Senate voted to reject a major...

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...