The Democratic-controlled House passed a $2.2-trillion-coronavirus-relief bill without the support of House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson and four other Democrats serving on the Agriculture Committee. They were among 18 Democrats who voted against the bill, which passed, 218-207; no Republicans voted for it.
Agriculture Committee members Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Anthony Brindisi of New York, and Cindy Axne of Iowa said they voted against the bill because it did not have bipartisan support, which would boost its chances of acceptance by the Republican-run Senate. Peterson and Xochitl Torres Small, the other Democrat who voted no, did not issue statements about their votes. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were engaged in negotiations over the package. President Trump said on social media on Saturday that America “wants and needs stimulus. Work together and get it done.”
The House-passed bill would increase SNAP benefits by 15 percent for one year and would authorize USDA coronavirus aid to biofuel producers, cotton mills, and contract producers of livestock and poultry. It also would provide $1.25 billion in compensation to livestock and poultry producers who culled their animals because of the pandemic.