honor the more than 529,000 people who have lost their lives to covid-19. and address the sacrifices that americans, that all of us have made during this pandemic while recognizing how it has very much changed our lives. that is right. president biden is also expected to tout what just passed and that is his $1.9 trillion covid stimulus package known as the american rescue plan. largely popular with the american people. but it passed only along party lines. there was not a single republican in either chamber that supported the bill. the president will sign it into law tomorrow and then he s going to pennsylvania next week to sell it to the american people. so let s begin at the white house with our john harwood. good morning to you, john. what have you learned in terms of the tone we re going to hear from the president tonight? reporter: well, poppy, pretty consistently president biden has struck a very sober tone about this pandemic, honoring the sacrifice of people, spe
the way now for massive amounts of aid to begin flowing including direct payments of up to $1,400 that could land in some people s bank accounts as soon as this weekend. this comes exactly one year after the kworldworld health organization declared a coronavirus pandemic that so far has claimed more than 530,000 american lives and infected almost 30 million people in the u.s. alone. by contrast, a year ago today, there were just 1,100 known cases here in the united states, underscoring the virus s devastating spread across the country and, indeed, around the world. and the cdc has just confirmed to cnn that data suggests 2020 was the deadliest year in u.s. history, with a 15% increase in the death rate due to the pandemic. let s go to the whoite house, or chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins is joining us now. we re told that the president has been working on this speech for a week. what s the latest? reporter: yeah, wolf, top aides say he s been editing it line
he spoke about its passage a little while ago. update our viewers. reporter: wolf, it was the top priority from the day president biden set foot in the oval office 50 days ago. and when he speaks to the nation tomorrow night in his first primetime address he says he is going to talk about the next phase of the covid recovery process, the next phase where the backbone of it will be the legislative victory he just secured. help is on the way. reporter: tonight on day 50 for president joe biden the first mission accomplished. this bill represents a historic, historic victory for the american people. reporter: the house passing biden s number one priority, the sweeping $1.9 trillion covid relief plan. and biden planning to sign it into law on friday. we have passed historic, consequential and transformative legislation. reporter: the bill broadly popular nationwide with 61% supporting the measure according to a cnn/ssrs poll and 66% saying the bill will help the eco
they were debating on president biden s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. the package is expected to pass handing the legislature its most legislative win. it is broadly popular with the american people. look at these new numbers from our latest poll. 61% of americans support this. president biden will begin touting the win during his prime time address, his first one to the nation. that s tomorrow night. this as the white house prepares to purchase an additional 100 million doses of the johnson & johnson covid vaccine. chief congressional correspondent manu raju is on capitol hill. manu, yet one more republican delay here now, another one of these votes to adjourn. is that the last one? when is the actual vote going to happen? yeah, there could be more. we expected this vote to take place around noon eastern, but it s now being delayed because of marjorie taylor greene, the freshman republican from georgia, who has made a motion to adjourn the chamber. this is actually the fo
forward to signing it, which he s expected to do at the white house on friday. also breaking, the president just announced a plan to buy an additional $100 million doses of the single-shot johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine. that comes as several states are expanding eligibility requirements and allowing more residents to be vaccinated. let s get straight to the white house right now, where our senior white house correspondent phil mattingly is joining us. this is a major victory for the new biden administration. that s right, wolf. when president biden addresses the nation in prime time tomorrow night, his first prime time address, he says he s going to talk about what s next, launching the next phase in the coronavirus relief process and a central component of that next phase will be the legislative victory he just secured. help is on the way. reporter: tonight on day 50 for president joe biden, the first mission accomplished. this bill represents an historic, histo