US President Joe Biden's $1.9tn relief plan to help Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic has been approved in the House of Representatives.
The bill must now go to the evenly-divided Senate, which has already blocked a key element - doubling the US minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The package seeks to boost vaccinations and testing, and stabilise the economy.
The cash would be extended as emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state governments. Unemployment is close to 10%, with some 10 million jobs lost in the pandemic.
The vote comes in the same week the US passed 500,000 coronavirus-related deaths - the largest figure of any nation in the world.
In brief remarks at the White House, President Biden hailed the House's approval of the plan, saying he hoped it would receive quick action at the Senate.
[Source: BBC]
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