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Republicans say bill includes measures not related to pandemic.

» President, treasury secretary back fast Senate approval of $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package to boost the economy,

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called on lawmakers to quickly approve his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, which passed the House of Representatives early Saturday and now heads to the Senate.

What happened

“It’s time to act,” Biden said in brief remarks Saturday at the White House, adding that an “overwhelming” percentage of the Americans support the legislation. “We have no time to waste. If we act now, decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus, we can finally get our economy moving again.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a two-part tweet that the stimulus bill “ensures that people make it to the other side of this pandemic and are met there by a strong, growing economy.”

The House voted 219-212 to pass the bill, a sharp break from previous aid packages that had drawn wide bipartisan support. No Republican in the House voted for it, and no Republican senators are expected to either. Two House Democrats also voted against it. To pass the Senate, Biden needs to either woo Republican support or avoid losing a single Democratic vote.

Why it matters

Democrats have all but abandoned efforts to pass a bipartisan package, accusing Republicans of balking at the price tag while Republicans say Biden’s bill goes well beyond pandemic-related measures.

GOP Rep. Devin Nunes on Saturday called Biden’s stimulus plan a “slush fund” for Democrats to use over the next four years.

“They’re going to be able to get the 50 votes, they’re going to buy the votes,” the California lawmaker said from the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.

The legislation would provide $1,400 direct payments to taxpayers making as much as $75,000 individually or $150,000 per couple. It also includes new funding for vaccinations and testing.

The president has said he believes the risk facing the U.S. is not that they overdo it, but that they don’t do enough and become trapped in a cycle of sluggish growth coming out of the coronavirus crisis, similar to the outcome of the 2008-09 recession. Several business groups have called on Congress to approve Biden’s package or a version of it.

Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, said recently that a robust recovery plan could make the difference between the U.S. returning to full employment next year, or struggling until 2025 for a labor-market recovery.

What’s next

Biden on Saturday didn’t address the minimum wage issue or an initiative in the Senate to place a tax penalty on big companies as a way of forcing them to pay higher wages. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter said “the House will continue our Fight for 15.”

“We will seek a solution consistent with the Senate rules, and we will do so as soon as possible,” Pelosi said. “Updates will be ongoing.”

A deadline looms for Biden: Millions of people are set to lose supplemental unemployment benefits March 14, when a previous round of virus stimulus expires.

AP As he spoke Saturday at the White House, President Joe Biden did not discuss minimum wage, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter the House would continue the “Fight for $15.”