Washington, D.C.–The democrats have passed President Biden’s lofty $1.9 trillion dollar stimulus package, which he signed into law on March 11. Among other things, it will include stimulus checks to applicable citizens, extend the expanded unemployment benefits, and provide financial aid to state and local governments. A complete list can be found on CNBC here.

The $15 an hour minimum wage increase didn’t make it through. It failed to gain enough support with Senate Democrats to be successfully added on. This means that the long sought after minimum wage increase will have to continue to be nothing but a widely debated measure rather than a reality.

Unfortunately, the stimulus package was less bipartisan than some had hoped. Despite widespread public support, the bill passed without a single Republican vote in either chamber of congress. The Republicans have long been critical of the measure, particularly the large amount of money. They got nowhere with their $600 billion counter proposal however. With minorities in both the House and Senate, and a lost election for the White House, they have no way to oppose a united Democratic front except for a filibuster. But with Democrats leaning to abolish it, that could soon be gone too.

This may be a sign of the future to come. For the foreseeable future, we may see the Republican minority helplessly trying to thwart a democratic agenda while they are outvoted on every issue. But no matter what lays in store for the government, we can be sure that private citizens will soon be receiving what, in some cases, is much needed aid. Hopefully, this can help to jumpstart the process of reopening when it’s safe to do so.