ATLANTA — As the U.S. Senate passed a budget resolution that will allow it to proceed toward passing President Joe Biden's nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package, Sen. Jon Ossoff noted that, "Georgia voters made this possible."
The Senate debated through the night and into the early morning Friday to get the resolution passed on a 50-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaker vote at about 5:30 a.m.
Congress' upper chamber worked through the night to complete the process referred to as a "vote-a-rama," when senators can offer amendments to the resolution that each require a vote.
The resolution does not mean the $1.9 trillion aid proposal by President Biden has passed yet - but it allows Democrats to now use the budget reconciliation process to pass it with their narrow hold on the Senate without a Republican filibuster.
During the "vote-a-rama" process, some elements of the relief package, such as raising the federal minimum wage to $15, were shot down. The Senate also included a stipulation that the proposed $1,400 stimulus checks not go to high earners, though what constitutes a high earner wasn't specified.
After the marathon vote concluded, Sen. Ossoff tweeted: "And with Vice President @KamalaHarris casting the crucial tie-breaking vote, at 5:30am after 14 hours of debate, the Senate has passed a $1.9 trillion budget for COVID relief. Georgia voters made this possible."
Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock also tweeted, saying the move was "another step toward getting Georgians the federal aid they need to get through this challenging time."
Without Ossoff's and Warnock's victories in Georgia's January Senate runoffs, Democrats would not have had the numbers Friday to hand the tiebreaker vote to Vice President Harris.
The House had passed the budget resolution earlier this week, but with the Senate's amendments it will need to return to the House for final approval.