House expected to pass COVID relief bill next week

The legislation includes an increase to the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

ByMichelle Stoddart, Lauren King, and Kate Pastor
Last Updated: February 25, 2021, 1:45 AM EST

This is Day 33 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Top headlines:

Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern.
Feb 16, 2021, 9:30 PM EST

Enough doses to vaccinate every American by end of July: Biden

The town hall kicked off with CNN's Anderson Cooper asking Biden when the nation could expect everyone to be vaccinated.

"By the end of July this year. We have -- we came into office, there was only 50 million doses that were available. By the end of July we'll have over 600 million doses, enough to vaccinate every single American,"  Biden said.

Biden stressed the need to get shots in the arms of the people and health care workers to help with the vaccinations. Biden signed an executive order to allow former doctors, nurses and National Guardsmen to assist in the vaccination process. He made clear that his administration is continuing to make strides to set up vaccination centers and increase vaccine supply.

Feb 16, 2021, 9:20 PM EST

Biden in Milwaukee, taking part in televised town hall

Biden traveled to Milwaukee Tuesday evening and is participating in a televised CNN town hall where he's answering questions from Americans.

"Some of the questioners here voted for him, some did not," CNN's Anderson Cooper said.

Biden is working this week to shift attention back to his ambitious agenda, with COVID-19 and his $2 trillion relief package taking center stage. As he continues to work to get at least some Senate Republicans on board, he's taken his message outside of Washington to talk directly with the American people on his first official trip as president.

President Joe Biden arrives at General Mitchell International Airport to participate in a town hall event at Pabst Theater, Feb. 16, 2021, in Milwaukee.
Evan Vucci/AP

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Feb 16, 2021, 6:52 PM EST

Biden talks with governors in states hit by winter weather

Biden held a phone call Tuesday evening with “with governors of states impacted by severe winter weather, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt,” according to the White House.

Miguel Mancilla and his wife, left, and Ramon Gutierrez, right, pass the time on their phones at a warming shelter inside the Copper Rose Building on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Odessa, Texas.
Miguel Mancilla and his wife, left, and Ramon Gutierrez, right, pass the time on their phones at a warming shelter inside the Copper Rose Building on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Odessa, Texas. The Mancillas are workers at the Family Dollar Distribution Center in Odessa and had spent the previous two days in their RV without power or water in below freezing temperatures.
Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP

They discussed the severe weather across the south and central U.S., and Biden told them his administration was “prepared to assist and stands ready to respond to requests for Federal assistance from the governors and will deploy any additional Federal emergency resources available to assist the residents of their states in getting through this historic storm,” the White House said.

He also “expressed gratitude” to frontline workers, the White House added.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Feb 16, 2021, 5:13 PM EST

Republican senators put forth minimum wage increase proposal

Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and Mitt Romney are putting together a proposal to raise the minimum wage, as Sen. Bernie Sanders and other Democrats continue to push forward a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 in the next COVID-19 relief package. 

According to Cotton's Twitter thread Tuesday afternoon, the proposal will require employers to verify the legal status of their workers, and "gradually" raise the minimum wage by tying it to inflation. It would go into effect after the pandemic is over and would include "protections" for small businesses.

Sen. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters as he arrives on the fifth day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Feb. 13, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Stefani Reynolds/Pool via AP

Romney's office told ABC News that the bill text and more details will be released next week. The Utah senator has suggested raising the minimum wage to around $10 an hour. 

The emerging proposal underscores the shifting politics around the issue and marks a potential opportunity for compromise down the road, depending on how Democrats decide the handle the minimum wage issue on Capitol Hill, since it's not expected to make it through the Senate in the COVID-19 relief legislation.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel and Mariam Khan