Biden's $1.9T Stimulus Moves Forward as Kamala Harris Breaks 50-50 Tie to Begin Senate Debate

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday broke a 50-50 tie to begin Senate debate on President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan.

Kamala Harris was forced to cast a tie-breaking 51st vote after the Senate deadlocked over whether to take up Biden's stimulus package.

The debate on the stimulus bill, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks to eligible Americans, is expected to drag into the weekend before lawmakers reach a final vote.

"On this vote the yays are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the motion to proceed is agreed to," Kamala Harris said in a New York Post report.

This marks Kamala Harris' second tie-breaking vote. The vice president broke a tie last month when Senate approved preliminary guidance to a committee drafting the bill.

Sen. Ron Johnson wanted the entire stimulus bill read aloud, which could delay the debate as the reading alone is seen to take about 10 hours. The Senate is expected to begin debate once the bill has been read.

Democrats adopted a legislative tool called budget reconciliation in order to advance Biden's stimulus package by a simple majority, in contrast to the usual 60-vote threshold.

The bill passed the House last week, and Senate Democrats developed a set of changes before the debate began. This includes lowering the income cap for stimulus checks from $100,000 to $80,000.

Republicans in Congress claimed Biden's stimulus package is overly expensive and unrelated to the pandemic. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before Kamala Harris broke the tie that the time for bipartisan cooperation on the COVID-19 relief is over. Schumer noted that they would not repeat the mistakes in the past, and they are not going to be timid.

"In the face of a great challenge, we are not going to delay. When urgent action is called for, we are not going to quit before the race is won," Schumer said in a New York Daily News report.

Biden's Stimulus Package

One of the recent developments in the stimulus package is the set price cap for eligibility. The Senate parliamentarian also removed some items from the House-passed bill, including a ruling that budget reconciliation rules mean the Senate cannot use the measure to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Business Insider reported.

The new stimulus package currently contains $1,400 stimulus checks, $400 federal unemployment benefits through August, and $350 billion in state and local government aid. The package also provides additional funds for virus testing and vaccines. However, no House Republican voted for the legislation.

Earlier, a group of 10 Republican lawmakers revealed an alternative stimulus plan that would scale back the checks to $1,000 per adult with a lower income cap for receivers' eligibility, according to a CBS News report. The plan would cut the cost of a third stimulus check to $220 billion compared with $600 billion under Biden's package.

Hunter Hammond, an analyst with Heights Securities, said in a Feb. 5 research note that Congress is pushing on a Democrat-only $1.9 trillion stimulus bill "in an attempt to strike while the iron is hot."

"And we expect this effort to succeed," Hammond added.

Biden has expressed willingness to negotiate, saying that he would insist on $1,400 stimulus checks and open to targeting the stimulus payments to those who most need it.

WATCH: Kamala Harris Breaks Senate Tie to Begin Debate on Stimulus - From Stream News