![\"Capitol-hill-US-Senate-narrowly-passes-$19-trillion-COVID-relief-legislation-rapidnews-dailyrapid\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Capitol-hill-US-Senate-narrowly-passes-19-trillion-COVID-relief-legislation-rapidnews-dailyrapid.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe United States Senate has narrowly passed an amended version of President Joe Biden\u2019s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill, sending the legislation back to the US House of Representatives for final approval.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In an around-the-clock session that began on Friday, US lawmakers worked through a series of amendments on Saturday morning before passing the legislation in a 50-49 vote.<\/p>\n
Republican and Democratic senators had\u00a0argued\u00a0over how long to extend enhanced unemployment benefits and how much to offer during the pandemic, which has left millions of Americans reeling and battered the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
The bill will return to the House of Representatives for final approval next week, after which lawmakers can send it to Biden for his signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tell the American people, help is on the way,\u201d said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur job right now is to help our country get from this stormy present to that hopeful future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bill has been one of Biden\u2019s top priorities in the early weeks of his presidency, as he had promised to enact a programme to tackle the surging pandemic and provide financial support for hard-hit citizens.<\/p>\n