Washington D.C., Mar 18, 2020 / 14:35 pm
Congress has passed a second bill responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including paid leave for coronavirus-related reasons for many Americans.
On Thursday, the Senate overwhelmingly voted to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), a $2.5 billion stimulus package. The White House has previously said that President Trump would sign the legislation.
The House passed the stimulus package early on Saturday morning by an overwhelming vote of 363 to 40. Of those voting in favor, 140 Republicans joined 223 Democrats while 40 other Republicans voted against the bill.
Although the bill received broad bi-partisan support, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), James Lankford (D-Okla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) all voted against the bill.