The House of Representatives is prepared to vote on the version of the pandemic aid bill that recently passed the Senate as early as this week, CNBC reported. That would leave enough time for President Biden to sign it before key unemployment programs expire on Sunday. While the Senate package is less generous than the one the House voted on—it is missing the $15 minimum wage, narrows eligibility for the $1,400 direct payments and reduces the unemployment supplement, among other things—it is still expected to pass as is, given that the House Progressive Caucus, the group most likely to oppose the new bill, is expected to throw its support behind the Senate version, said the Wall Street Journal. While more liberal Democrats rued the changes made to appease moderate Democrats (it was Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), for example, who demanded fewer and smaller unemployment payments), progressive leaders believed that it was more important to pass a package quickly, and that there was already a lot in the bill to celebrate nonetheless. 

While House leaders, according to CNBC, said they want to have bipartisan support on the bill, this is highly unlikely, as Republican lawmakers have formed a united front against the package, which conservatives have derided as too costly and not focused enough on the specifics of the pandemic. Republicans also criticized the use of budget reconciliation to pass the landmark bill, despite having done the exact same thing to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Markets seemed unperturbed as well: Bloomberg reported that this week's rally, following a major correction, is motivated at least in part by the expected passage of the stimulus package, combined with overall anticipation of economic growth as the pandemic wanes.