The Senate began a marathon effort to take up President Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill.
Here's what to know about the process so far, and where things are headed:
- Opening of the debate: The chamber voted this afternoon to open debate on the legislation. In a sign of just how thin Democrats' majority is, Vice President Kamala Harris broke the 50-50 tie advancing the bill.
- What is happening now: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson objected to dispense the reading of the bill, forcing the 628-page bill to be read out loud before 20 hours of debate can begin in earnest. A Senate clerk started reading the bill out loud around 3:20 p.m. ET and it is expected to take about 10 hours.
- What happens next: After the bill is read, then the Senate will begin 20 hours of debate. The time is evenly divided. Republicans or Democrats could yield back time, so it could be limited if Democrats decide to give back significant portions of time. At some point, the Senate is expected to then move into a vote-a-rama, a tradition in the chamber that typically involves a large number of votes on amendments that can stretch for hours and last until late in the night. There is no saying how long that will go. You can read more about that here. Eventually, the Senate will vote on the bill. If passed in the chamber, the bill will have to go back to the House for a separate vote before Biden signs it into law.
- What's in the bill: While the Senate bill reflects similar priorities to the House bill and includes many of the same provisions, the Senate legislation differs in a few ways. Senators narrowed the eligibility for stimulus checks and removed a provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. You can read about key parts of the bill here and read the full legislation here.
CNN's Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco contributed reporting to this post.