Biden says 'no time to waste' on COVID relief bill

He made brief remarks Saturday after the House passed the legislation.

This is Day 40 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.


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Harris calls NASA astronaut Victor Glover

In honor of Black History Month, NASA astronaut Victor Glover welcomed Harris to the International Space Station via virtual chat.

A pre-recorded video shared on Saturday by NASA, shows Harris and Glover discussing several topics, including the legacy of human spaceflight, observing Earth from the space station and prepping for missions from the Moon to Mars.

Glover is a long-duration crew member on the International Space Station and is responsible for spacecraft systems and performance.


House Democrat details reasons for voting "no" on COVID-19 relief bill

Rep. Jared Golden, one of only two House Democrats who voted against the COVID-19 bill early Saturday, detailed his decision to vote no in a lengthy statement, taking issue with the size and scope of the package -- and the large price tag that comes with it.

Golden said he supported funding for vaccine distribution and testing, and emergency unemployment benefits, but disagreed with the funding efforts that duplicate efforts still being funded by previous stimulus plans or that he views as unnecessary -- including the income range for the $1400 Direct Checks


"This bill allocates $1,400 direct checks to individuals making up to $75,000 and married couples making up to $150,000, with phased-down checks for households with incomes as high as $200,000. Under this bill, it is estimated that over 90 percent of Maine tax filers would receive a check from the federal government. While those who have lost jobs or had hours reduced ought to receive income support, it is a waste to send a third round of government checks to wealthy individuals making almost three times the average household salary in Maine’s Second Congressional District," he wrote.

Golden also took issue with the inclusion of the Child Tax Credit expansion, a two-year enhancement of premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and multiemployer pension reform, saying he supported the policy but disagreed with passing them through an emergency bill.

“Many have popularly claimed that the biggest threat is not that Congress goes too big but that it goes too small in responding to the current economic situation," Golden wrote, paraphrasing Biden's common talking point.

"They are ignoring the possibility of a much-anticipated infrastructure proposal from the Biden Administration later this year which could offer a chance for Congress to further boost the economy if necessary. Between the money spent in 2020 and today’s package, we are already nearing $6 trillion in new spending in less than one year. This amount of new spending is unprecedented since World War II. It’s not unreasonable to take a step back and ask ourselves if we are making every dollar count and picking the right priorities. At some point, the bill has to come due, and when it does, it could put at risk critical programs such as Medicare or sap resources needed for important future priorities, from rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure to fixing our broken healthcare system.”

Notably, nowhere in the statement is the issue of the $15 minimum wage mentioned.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle


Harris delivers Black History Month address

Harris celebrated Black History month on Saturday in a keynote address at the 40th Annual Black History Month virtual celebration.

In her speech, she applauded the House for passing a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package and touted how the bill would lead to $1,400 direct payments for Americans, a child tax credit and $20 billion toward a national COVID-19 vaccination program.

She said she plans to get the bill “across the finish line.”

She cited how the Black community has been hard hit in the pandemic.

“We are looking at a country in a situation where more than two in three Black Americans personally know someone who has been hospitalized or who has died from COVID-19,” she said.

“Black women workers are being forced out of the workforce in record numbers, and so many Black small businesses are being forced to close their doors,” Harris added.

“In so many ways, this pandemic has been an accelerator. And for those for whom things were bad before, they're even worse now for the fissures and the failures, the defects, the flaws in our system, during the course of this pandemic, have been blown up for all to see,” she said.

She celebrated the “the barrier breakers and the history makers” who came before her.

“I think of history in the context of a relay race. With each generation running their course and passing the baton to the next. And so, the baton is now in our hands and what matters is how well we run our portion of the race,” Harris said.

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez


Biden praises House for passing American Rescue Plan, tells Senate there’s “no time to waste”

During brief remarks Saturday morning, Biden praised the House passage of his American Rescue Plan and urged the Senate to pass the bill, warning there’s “no time to waste.”

He said he spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just before stepping out and thanked her for her work on the effort and for moving the country “one step forward” on relief.

The $1.9 trillion economic coronavirus relief package will provide resources to schools and businesses, boost funding for vaccinations and testing and grant financial relief to Americans across the country.

“With their vote, we're one step closer to vaccinating the nation. We are one step closer to putting $1,400 in the pockets of Americans,” Biden said. “We're one step closer to extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who are shortly going to lose them. We're one step closer to helping millions of Americans feed their families, and keep a roof over their head.”

“We're one step closer to getting our kids safely back in school. And we're one step closer to getting state and local governments the money they need to prevent massive layoffs for essential workers,” he added.

He directed a message to the Senate stressing, “I hope it will receive quick action.”

“If we act now, decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus, we can finally get our economy moving again, and the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long.”

-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks, Justin Gomez and Molly Nagle


Vote to rename post office delayed over election results vote

Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., took to the House floor on Tuesday to speak in favor of his bill to name a Tupelo post office after U.S. Air Force Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris, a Vietnam prisoner of war who was held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton."

The uncontroversial measure was slated to pass under the suspension of the House rules -- with debate expedited because it had the support of two-thirds of the chamber.

But in a surprise move, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., blocked the measure, and instead forced the House to take a recorded vote on the bill Tuesday evening.

The reason? Kelly voted to overturn the election results on Jan. 6.

"As Representatives working every day on behalf of the American people, Rep. Casten believes that working with members regardless of political party is at the core of good public policy," Casten's chief of staff Cara Pavlock said in an email obtained by ABC News. "As a general matter, he does not suggest this action against members with whom we merely disagree, but that willingness to collaborate can only extend so far and to those that also hold the core value of upholding democracy."

"The vote to overturn the election results in the midst of a violent insurrection was a bridge too far," Pavlock wrote, adding that Casten also planned to vote against the post office renaming for that reason.

The bill did pass on a vote of 406-15.

The minor procedural dustup is one of many reminders of how Congress is still grappling with the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and that lawmakers are still coming to terms with how to approach colleagues who supported and amplified former President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel