Senate Democrats voted early Saturday morning to offer a federal unemployment payout of $ 300 a week in early September, effectively undoing the IDP’s attempt to end payments by mid-July.
Senators voted 50-49 to add amendment to Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden
Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenProgressives will not oppose the bill against restrictions on stimulus checks. GOP pulls all the stops to delay COVID-19 package Overnight Health Care: Biden strikes Texas, Mississippi to lift coronavirus restrictions: ‘Neanderthal thinking’ | Senate panel divided by party lines on Becerra | More than 200,000 people sign up for ACA plans during Biden’s special enrollment period MORE (D-Ears.) In the bill of about 1.9 billion coronaviruses currently being discussed by the chamber.
All 50 Democratic senators are voting for the amendment, which offers the weekly payment of $ 300 through Sept. 6. Every Republican who was there to vote opposed it.
The vote came about an hour after Senate Republicans were able to secure a short-lived victory when they approved a Senate amendment. Rob Portman
Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanMandel gets club for growth nod in Ohio Senate primary, Rick Scott, caught amid opposing GOP factions. Five takeaways from the dramatic trial of Capitol security MORE (R-Ohio) temporarily in the coronavirus account. Portman’s amendment paid $ 300 a week, but until July 18th.
Republicans were able to achieve the short victory because Sen. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) ManchinOvernight Defense: Capitol Police Can Ask National Guard to Stay | Biden’s Nominated Candidate for Pentagon Policy Gets Criticism Naval Academy Midshipmen Move to Hotels Progressives Will Not Vote Against Limits on Stimulus Checks Senate Votes to Adopt COVID-19 Assistance Bill MORE (DW.Va.), who supported the subsequent Democratic amendment, also voted in favor of Portman’s proposal.
But a Democratic assistant telegraphed in advance how the drama would unfold. The Portman and Wyden votes were delayed by about an hour because Democrats were still waiting to determine the cost of their proposal.
“We expect Senator Portman to present his UI amendment and that it will succeed. However, it will be replaced with the new UI agreement of the Senate, which will be presented tonight as an amendment,” the Democratic assistant said before the mood said. .
Both proposals are a change to the bill passed by the House, which would pay $ 400 a week until the end of August.
Democrats held the debate on the coronavirus relief bill for nearly twelve hours on Friday afternoon, while trying to work out the agreement on the language of unemployment.
They initially indicated that they had an agreement on Friday morning that would offer the unemployment benefit of $ 300 until early October.
But as the day dawned – and the Democrats set a new record for the longest vote in modern Senate history – it became clear that the Democrats were scrambling to block Manchin’s support.
Because of the thin 50-50 margin, Democrats needed the support of their entire caucus to get an agreement with the unemployment payments in the bill. They announced their final deal, which had Manchin’s support, shortly before 8pm on Friday.
In addition to paying $ 300 a week, the Democratic agreement also eliminates $ 10,200 unemployment benefits from federal income taxes for households with incomes of less than $ 150,000.
“Our goal was to provide the strongest protection for the unemployed Americans who can pass the Senate,” Wyden said before the vote.