Senate Democrats advance $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, clearing hurdle as they finalize changes to legislation

• The Senate voted along party lines to advance Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill on Thursday.
• The move kicks off a marathon debate that's likely to push a final Senate vote into the weekend.
• Republicans aim to drag out the proceedings and offer hundreds of amendments to the bill.

The Senate voted along party lines to advance the $1.9 trillion rescue package on Thursday, kicking off a debate that Republicans are attempting to drag out. A final vote on the bill may slip into the weekend.

Vice President Kamala Harris broke the tie for a 51-50 vote in the evenly-divided chamber. The clock will soon start on 20 hours of debate, followed by a marathon amendment process called a vote-a-rama.

"No matter how long it takes, the Senate is going to stay in session to finish the bill this week," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday.

Once the bill clears the Senate, it will go back to the House for final approval and then to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature.

There are considerable differences between the House bill and the Senate version being considered. A provision for a $15 an hour minimum wage was struck after a key Senate official ruled it was out of order, and Democrats tightened eligibility for a third stimulus check.

Shortly after the vote to open debate, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin took the unusual step of forcing a full readout of the 628-page relief legislation. It could stretch up to 12 hours. The task fell upon the chamber's clerks; senators wouldn't be reading the bill.

Johnson remained in the Senate floor, occasionally taking notes on a legal pad at his desk or chatting with aides. "If they're going to add nearly $2T to the national debt at least we should know what's in the bill," the Wisconsin senator wrote in a tweet.

Democrats brushed this aside as a political stunt and pointed to polls suggesting strong public support for the package.

"We Democrats want America to hear what's in the plan," Schumer said. "And if the senator from Wisconsin wants to read it, let everybody listen, because it has overwhelming support."

Legislation changed in Senate en route to party-line vote

Democrats spent much of the past day finalizing changes to the sprawling legislation. Biden on Wednesday signed off on tightening eligibility for a round of $1,400 stimulus checks, lowering the income caps to prevent higher-earning Americans from receiving another direct payment.

The moderate Democrats who led the effort were also successful in adjusting the aid formulas for $350 billion in state and local funding. It placed new limits on how the money could be used and designed a $10 billion pot of money that could be designated for infrastructure.

"I wanted to be sure localities had an ironclad share of the state and local funding," Sen. Angus King of Maine told reporters on Thursday. "I wanted to be sure that the individual payments were targeted to those most in need."

The relief package would provide $1,400 stimulus checks to most taxpayers; $400 in weekly federal unemployment benefits through August; $200 billion in funding for schools; $50 billion for virus testing and tracing; and a major revamp of the child tax credit.

Republicans have staunchly opposed the bill, arguing that it is an untargeted piece of legislation full of progressive priorities. Some were supportive of Johnson.

"I would expect a very long night into the next day and keep going on. There's a lot to still cover," Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma told Insider of the pending vote-a-rama expected on Friday. "Obviously we need to read the bill first."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is pressing for Republican senators to be united against the Democratic legislation. Still, one GOP senator appeared open to supporting the rescue bill - Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

The Senate version of the bill sets up more funding for the battered tourism industry, and also provides more aid to smaller population states. Both are areas of concern that Murkowski mentioned recently.

"I'm going to look and see what's in it. We already know some of the things that have been pointed out that are clearly not COVID-related," Murkowski told reporters Thursday. "But I'm looking at some of the things that will provide a level of relief for a state like Alaska."