CORONAVIRUS

Senate votes to begin debating $1.9 trillion relief package.

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Thursday to begin debating a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, after Democrats made eleventhhour changes aimed at ensuring they could pull President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority through the precariously divided chamber.

Democrats were hoping for Senate approval of the package before next week, in time for the House to sign off and get the measure to Biden before March 14, when a previous round of emergency benefits expires.

The bill will provide direct payments of $1,400 to vast numbers of Americans. There’s also money for COVID-19 vaccines and testing, aid to state and local governments, help for schools and the airline industry, tax breaks for lower-earners and families with children, and subsidies for health insurance.

“The time is now to move forward with big, bold, strong relief,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The new provisions would have the government cover the entire cost of health care for some workers who lose jobs, up from its 85 percent share; boost spending for rural health care and capital projects; expand tax credits for student loans and startup companies; and steer specific amounts of aid to smaller states. The details were provided by a Senate Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the decisions.

Lawmakers were also considering paring back the bill’s $400 weekly emergency unemployment benefits to $300. That potential change could also extend those emergency payments through September. It was described by aides and a lobbyist who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In another bargain that satisfied moderates, Biden and Senate Democrats agreed Wednesday to tighten eligibility for the direct checks to individuals, phasing out the $1,400 payments for individuals earning at least $80,000 and couples making $160,000, well lower than the original ceilings.

As soon as the Senate began considering the bill, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., forced the chamber’s clerks to begin reading the entire 628-page measure aloud. He said earlier that he was doing it to “shine the light on this abusive and obscene amount of money.”

Johnson’s move pointed to a larger GOP argument: Democrats were ramming an overpriced bill through that disregarded that growing numbers of vaccinations and other signs suggest the country’s pandemic ordeal is beginning to ease.

“Instead of heading into a dark tunnel, we’re accelerating out of it,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Democrats say a strong economic stimulus is still needed to prevent a relapse.

“It’s a crisis that is still very much with us, and it is deadly, deadly serious,” Schumer said.