The compromise, announced by West Virginia lawmaker and a Democratic aide last Friday, seemed to pave the way for the Senate to begin a climate series of marathons of votes and eventually pass general legislation.
The general bill, President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority, aims to combat the killer pandemic and restore the health of the staggered economy. It would provide direct payments of up to $ 1,400 to most Americans and money for COVID-19 vaccines and testing, aid to state and local governments, aid to schools and the airline industry, and health insurance grants.
Shortly before midnight, the Senate began adopting several amendments quickly. The majority of votes were on virtually certain Republican proposals that failed, but designed to force Democrats to cast politically uncomfortable votes. It was unclear how long the “vote-a-branch” would last the weekend.
More significantly, the agreement on unemployment benefits suggested it was only a matter of time before the Senate passed the bill. This would send her back to the House, which was expected to give her final approval from Congress and take her to Biden for signature.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden supports the commitment on jobless payments.
Friday’s long confrontation highlighted the headaches facing party leaders over the next two years – and tensions between progressives and centrists – as they try to move their agenda to Congress with their slender majorities.
Manchin is probably the most conservative Democrat in the House and a king in the 50-50 Senate. But the party cannot lean too far to win Manchin’s vote without jeopardizing progressive support in the House, where they only have 10 votes.
Helping unemployed Americans is a democratic priority. But it is also an issue that causes a wedge between progressives seeking to help employment components cope with the bleak economy and Manchin and other moderates who have sought to cut some of the bill’s costs.
Biden noted Friday’s job report showing employers added 379,000 workers, an unexpectedly strong sample. This is still small compared to the 10 million fewer jobs since the pandemic occurred a year ago.
“Without a rescue plan, those gains will slow down,” Biden said. “We can’t afford a step forward and two steps back. We need to beat the virus, provide essential relief and build an inclusive recovery.”
The general bill faces a strong Republican Party opposition wall, and Republicans used the impasse of unemployment to accuse Biden of refusing to seek compromises with them.
“You can pick up the phone and end it right now,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said about Biden.
But in an encouraging sign for Biden, a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 70% of Americans supported his treatment of the pandemic, including a remarkable 44% of Republicans.
The House last weekend passed a relief bill that included weekly unemployment benefits of $ 400 (in addition to regular state payments) through August. Manchin hoped to reduce those costs, saying the pay level would deter people from returning to work, a reason most Democrats and many economists reject.
SEE ALSO: What it is, is not in the Senate version of the COVID-19 relief bill
When the day began, Democrats claimed they had reached a compromise between party moderates and progressives, extending jobless emergency benefits to $ 300 a week in early October.
This plan, sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., Also included tax cuts on some unemployment benefits. Without this, many Americans abruptly expelled from jobs would face unexpected tax bills.
But at noon, lawmakers said Manchin was willing to support a less generous Republican version. This led to hours of talks with White House aides, top Senate Democrats and Manchin, as the party tried to find a way to save the unemployment aid package.
The pledge announced Friday night would provide $ 300 a week, with the final check paid on Sept. 6 and includes the benefits tax rebate.
During the “vote-to-branch,” the Senate narrowly passed an amendment by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, that would have extended the $ 300 unemployment insurance benefit until July 18th. But Portman’s victory was short-lived and the proposal was short-lived. it was canceled when the chamber subsequently approved the unemployment insurance proposal drawn up by the Democrats.
Before the drama of unemployment benefits began, senators voted between 58 and 42 to kill a top progressive priority, a gradual increase in the current minimum hourly wage from $ 7.25 to $ 15 in five years.
Eight Democrats voted against the proposal, suggesting Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., And other progressives who promise to continue the effort in the coming months will face a tough fight.
This vote began shortly after 11 a.m. EST and was not formally formalized until nearly 12 hours later, when the Senate was working to stop amid negotiations on unemployment benefits.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell deceived Democrats and called his all-day effort to work out the unemployment amendment a “spectacle.”
“What it shows is that bipartisanship has advantages when it comes to an issue of this magnitude,” McConnell said.
Republicans criticized the general welfare bill as a Liberal spending party that ignores the growing number of vaccinations and signs of a turbulent economy suggesting twin crises are easing.
SEE ALSO: Could it be this final package with stimulus controls?
“Democrats inherited a tide that was already turning.” McConnell said.
Democrats reject it, citing job losses and many people still struggling to buy food and pay rent.
“If you just look at a large number, you say,‘ Oh, everything is getting a little better, ’” said Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, DN.Y. “It’s not for the lower half of America. It’s not.”
Friday’s blockade on unemployment benefits was not the first delay in the relief package. On Thursday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Forced chamber clerks to read aloud the entire 628-page relief law, a grueling task that lasted employees 10 hours and 44 minutes and ended shortly. after 2 a.m. EST.
Democrats made a number of other late changes to the bill, designed to restrict support. They ranged from extra money for food programs and federal health care grants for job-losing workers to funds for rural health care and the language that ensures minimum amounts of money for in the smaller states.
In another late negotiation that satisfied the moderates, Biden Democrats and the Senate agreed Wednesday that some higher-income earners would not be eligible for direct checks on people.
Associated Press staff writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
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