The House will take up a $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending bill on Wednesday, and Democratic leaders say they have the votes to pass it.

“I’m 110% confident that the votes exist to pass the American Rescue Plan,” House Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, told reporters on Tuesday.

Senate Democrats approved the measure on Saturday, making several changes to appease centrists in their party and adhere to legislative rules that allowed them to pass the bill with 51 votes instead of 60. Once the measure clears the House, it will go to President Biden for his signature.

Changes to eliminate a provision requiring a $15 minimum wage and another to lower enhanced unemployment benefits from $400 to $300 provoked outrage among some liberal House members, but they now appear resigned to vote for the bill. The Senate bill also lowers the income threshold for those who can receive a new round of stimulus checks.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who leads the House Progressive Caucus, called some of the Senate changes “relatively minor in the grand scheme of things” and acknowledged fellow Democrats are “frustrated” that the minimum wage mandate is not in the bill.

“But the package itself is an incredibly bold piece of legislation,” Jayapal said. “It hits all of our progressive priorities.”

House Democrats control a narrow majority and can spare only a handful of votes to pass the bill, since Republicans are expected to vote against it.

The House first passed the measure last month by a vote of 219 to 212, with two “no” votes from Democrats and no GOP support.

The bill will provide another round of $1,400 stimulus checks and enhanced weekly jobless benefits. The jobless pay, while slashed by $100 per week, in the Senate, would extend to Sept. 6 instead of the end of August and would be nontaxable up to $10,200 for households with incomes less than $150,000.

Republicans oppose the bill, arguing it is wasteful and dedicates most of the funding to Democratic priorities that are unrelated to the pandemic. About 9% of its spending is dedicated to the virus, including 1% for vaccine production and distribution.

The package includes $350 billion for state and local governments, for example, and much of the money for schools won’t be distributed until next year, and none of the funding requires shuttered schools to reopen.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said Republicans only oppose the bill because the president is a Democrat. If President Donald Trump were still in office and called for a new round of checks, at least some in the GOP would support the measure, he argued.

“I think their vote here is a political vote,” Hoyer said.

Original Location: House Democrats will take up $1.9 trillion spending bill Wednesday, sending it to Biden