The House passed two bills in response to the coronavirus crisis Friday evening. The first bill allows the House to conduct its business flexibly and temporarily for the limited duration of the pandemic crisis, with the ability for committees to meet remotely and members to use proxy voting in floor votes. According to Republicans, that is nothing less than an end to democracy as we know it and also, somehow, communism. Nevertheless, it passed 217-189.
The House also passed the $3 trillion HEROES Act, the next tranche of stimulus spending to try to keep the country and its people at least partially afloat. It passed, narrowly, 208-199, which will make it more challenging for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to build momentum to get it to and through the Senate.