Biden's 1st 100 days live updates: Senate passes COVID relief bill along party lines
The final vote was 50-49.
Today is Day 46 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Latest headlines:
Security review recommends hiring 1,000 new Capitol Police officers
A Capitol security review will recommend adding roughly 1,000 new Capitol Police officers to the force and improving infrastructure around the Capitol Hill complex, according to an executive summary obtained by ABC News.
The draft report -- shared with congressional leaders and relevant committees -- recommends replacing the temporary, razor wire-topped fencing around the House and Senate office buildings with mobile and retractable fencing that could still "enable an open campus," absent any threats. It also recommends empowering the Capitol Police chief to request assistance from federal law enforcement and the D.C. National Guard in an emergency, to avoid the extensive delays that plagued the response to the Jan. 6 riot.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday that lawmakers will review the draft and "hear what the security folks have to say” before proposing any changes to the Capitol's security apparatus.
The review, details of which were first reported by CNN, also recommends establishing a permanent quick reaction force to be on standby in Washington to supplement Capitol Police and local law enforcement when needed, suggests that Capitol Police maintain civil disobedience units when Congress is in session and consider reestablishing a mounted unit that could help patrol the Capitol grounds.
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel
Senate begins consideration of COVID relief bill
The Senate is taking up the COVID relief bill after Vice President Kamala Harris came to the floor to break the tie.
Republicans who claim the bill is massive and won't address issues related to the pandemic have set the stage for a lengthy series of procedural measures designed to slow down momentum.
Democrats, however, are projecting that they will hold together and vote unanimously in favor of the aid after Biden made concessions to appease the moderates.
"We're going to just keep drinking coffee and getting this thing done," Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin and Trish Turner
Biden wants America to 'lead the world' in infrastructure
Biden, Harris, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and bipartisan lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee including committee chair Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and ranking member Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., were meeting Thursday in the Oval Office about a major infrastructure reform bill.
Passing the legislation, which could be Biden's moonshot, was something his predecessors, former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, set out to accomplish but did not.
"It not only creates jobs but it makes us a hell of a lot more competitive around the world if we have the best infrastructure in the world," Biden said.
The meeting comes the same week that the American Society of Civil Engineers gave American infrastructure a C- score on its 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, which is up from a D+ in 2017.
Biden says he's comfortable narrowing direct payment eligibility in COVID-19 relief bill
As the president was set to meet with bipartisan members of the House Transportation Committee on his infrastructure priorities on Thursday, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Biden if he's comfortable with limiting the number of Americans who receive direct payments under his COVID-19 relief bill, reflecting the new income cap of $80,000 for individuals.
"Are you comfortable with having to limit the direct payments?" Bruce asked. Biden confidently responded, "Yes."
Asked if he's reaching out to Republicans in the Senate who are trying to slow down the bill, Biden said "I've been talking to a lot of my Republican friends in the House and the Senate, continue to do that. And we’ve met, had a number of meetings with Republicans on the Coronavirus bill -- and House, Senate, a combination of both. So, we're keeping everybody informed."
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky