Skip to content Skip to footer

Republicans Unite Against Stimulus Bill That Has 76 Percent Voter Support

A recent poll shows wide bipartisan support for Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill with $1,400 checks and $15 wage.

President Joe Biden speaks about the American Rescue Plan in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on February 22, 2021.

A new poll of 2,013 registered voters has found that 76 percent of voters are supportive of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. This is an increase from similar polls conducted last month which also indicated support for the bill.

The stimulus package enjoys wide and decisive support. Nearly 90 percent of Democratic voters are in favor of the bill, called the American Rescue package, and 60 percent of Republican voters support the bill, according to a poll released Wednesday by Morning Consult/Politico. Independent voters are also in favor of the bill, with 71 percent of respondents saying that they support it.

Support for the stimulus package among a majority of Republican voters is in stark contrast to the current maneuverings of the congressional Republicans who represent them. GOP leaders are trying to rein in party members to keep them united against the stimulus package, despite polls showing its popularity among voters. Late last month, a group of Republicans had unveiled an alternative to Biden’s stimulus package that cut the bill by more than two-thirds.

Biden’s stimulus package as it stands contains many popular proposals like a $15 federal minimum wage, $1,400 in relief checks, additional unemployment checks and funding for vaccines.

With control of the Senate, House and White House, however, Democrats may not need a single Republican vote to pass the stimulus. Because the package qualifies for a vote under budget reconciliation, the Senate can bypass the filibuster and pass the package with a simple majority vote.

The stimulus is set for a vote in the House on Friday. It will most likely pass, but there are some hurdles yet to be cleared with the bill — the $15 federal minimum wage proposal currently being the most contentious part.

First, there is the procedural hurdle: On Wednesday, the Senate parliamentarian heard arguments from Democrats and Republicans about whether the popular minimum wage proposal fits into the rules of budget reconciliation. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) argued that the minimum wage increase will have a widespread effect on many parts of the budget, reports Roll Call.

Republicans, Roll Call reports, said that the impact of the wage hike on the budget is “merely incidental,” a phrase that somewhat plagues this process as it has never received a formal definition. The Byrd rule, the guidelines by which the parliamentarian decides whether or not something fits under budget reconciliation, says that things that are “merely incidental” are not subject to reconciliation.

Regardless, it is somewhat ironic that Republicans would argue that the minimum wage hike wouldn’t have a big enough impact on the budget to fit under reconciliation. As Sanders noted on MSNBC on Wednesday, “There’s not one Republican who will support a $15 an hour minimum wage,” partially because, as they claim, Republicans think that the proposal is too drastic and will have too large of an impact on the economy.

“Let me be very clear about this: The only way that we are going to raise the minimum wage is through reconciliation or ending the filibuster,” said Sanders.

The other hurdle that progressive Democrats face on the minimum wage hike is their own party. Centrist Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) are also opposed to the $15 minimum wage proposal. With a one-vote majority in the Senate, if their opposition turns into a no-vote, the stimulus will have to go back into negotiations.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), however, said that she could play the same game as Sinema and Manchin to try to preserve the $15 minimum wage, which is extremely popular among the public. If the parliamentarian doesn’t approve the wage increase for the stimulus bill, Ocasio-Cortez says she will reluctantly accept that.

However, Ocasio-Cortez told Politico’s Sarah Ferris on Wednesday, “There’s a scenario, where if our party is voluntarily trying to strip this provision, where we take a stand against it,” hinting that she might vote against the bill if that were the case. She’s also against proposals like Manchin’s to cut the minimum wage hike down to $11 an hour, which she says is “completely unacceptable. $15 is already a compromise.”

Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn

Dear Truthout Community,

If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.

We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.

Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.

There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.

After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?

It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.

We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.

We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.

Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.

We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.

With love, rage, and solidarity,

Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy