House set to vote on virus relief; Biden hits his first 50 days in office

Gulf Today Report

As Congress is poised to approve a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, President Joe Biden laid out an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days in office, promising swift action on everything from climate change to immigration reform to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Biden on the cusp of an early triumph that advances Democratic priorities and showcases the unity his party will need to forge future victories, according to The Associated Press.

READ MORE

UN envoy in Doha to push on Afghan peace process: Sources

Michelle Obama, Mia Hamm among 9 chosen for Women's HOF

He hits his 50th day in office on Wednesday as his administration eyes a major milestone: final congressional passage of his massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package. The bill includes direct payments to millions of Americans and money to help the White House deliver on a number of Biden's biggest campaign promises, like reopening schools and getting more Americans vaccinated.

This photo shows a view of the White House in Washington. File/AP

Fifty days in, Biden has made major strides on a number of key campaign pledges for his earliest days in office, while others are still awaiting action. Where he stands on some of his major promises:

The House was expected to give final congressional approval on Wednesday to the package, which aims to fulfill Democrats' campaign promises to beat the pandemic and revive the enfeebled economy. House and Senate Republicans have unanimously opposed the package as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the dual crises are easing.

"It's a remarkable, historic, transformative piece of legislation which goes a very long way to crushing the virus and solving our economic crisis," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on Tuesday.

For Biden and Democrats, the bill is essentially a canvas on which they've painted their core beliefs — that government programs can be a benefit, not a bane, to millions of people and that spending huge sums on such efforts can be a cure, not a curse. The measure so closely tracks Democrats' priorities that several rank it with the top achievements of their careers, and despite their slender congressional majorities there was never real suspense over its fate.