As the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill was signed into law this week, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to promote the bill and its benefits to Americans. Harris is to visit Denver, Colorado, next week to promote the relief package.
Harris’s office announced that the vice president would be traveling to Denver, Colorado, on March 16. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will be joining Harris on the visit, but any further details have yet to be disclosed. The visit by Harris and Emhoff will be part of the administration’s push to promote the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that Biden signed into law Thursday. Biden will also be traveling around the country to promote the newly-signed legislation, accompanied by first lady Dr. Jill Biden and Cabinet secretaries.
The signing into law comes shortly after the House passed the final version of the relief bill this week. Prior to the House, the Senate passed the bill over the weekend. The bill was passed on party lines as not a single Republican lawmaker voted for the bill. GOP lawmakers argued that the bill would only benefit Democrats despite the bill receiving significant support from Americans across the board.
During her visit, Harris’s office said that the vice president is expected to address the aspects of the COVID-19 aid. Among the inclusions are the $300 a week emergency unemployment benefits that have been extended until September, as well as shoring up finances of both state and local governments.
Aside from the COVID-19 relief bill being signed into law this week, confirmed Cabinet members are also being sworn in by Harris to their positions. Shortly after the Senate confirmed Judge Merrick Garland as the Justice Department’s new Attorney General, Garland was ceremonially sworn in to the post by Harris. Prior to his swearing-in by Harris, Garland already received his official swearing-in by the agency’s assistant attorney general Lee Lofthus.
Along with Garland, Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge also took her oath of office with Harris to become the Biden administration’s Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fudge’s swearing-in ceremony was held virtually.