Senate Democrats voted Saturday morning to provide a weekly $ 300 federal unemployment payment in early September, effectively undoing a Republican Party effort to end those payments in mid-July.
Senators voted 50-49 to add the amendment to the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden
Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenProgressives will not oppose the limits on GOP stimulus controls by removing all stops to delay the COVID-19 overnight health care package: Biden calls on Texas, Mississippi, to lift restrictions on coronavirus: “Neanderthal Thought” Senate panel splits along party lines in Becerra | More than 200,000 people enroll in ACA plans during the Biden MORE special enrollment period (D-Ore.) In the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus bill the chamber is currently debating.
All 50 Democratic senators are voting for the amendment, which provides for the weekly payment of $ 300 through Sept. 6. All Republicans who were voting opposed it.
The vote came about an hour after Republicans in the Senate got a short-lived victory when they raised an amendment from the senator. Rob Portman
Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanMandel gets the head for the Club for Growth in Ohio Senate Elementary Rick Scott trapped amid opposing GOP factions. Five meals for the dramatic safety audition of the Capitol MORE (R-Ohio) temporarily on the coronavirus bill. The Portman amendment provided a payment of $ 300 per week but until July 18th.
Republicans were able to get the brief victory for the senator. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) Manchin Night Defense: Capitol Police May Ask National Guard to Stay | Biden Pentagon political candidate faces criticism | Naval Academy soldiers moved to hotels Progressives will not oppose stimulus control limits bill Senate votes to pass COVID-19 relief bill MORE (DW.Va.), which supported the subsequent democratic amendment, also voted in favor of Portman’s proposal.
But a Democratic aide had telegraphed in advance how the drama would unfold. There was a delay of about an hour between the Portman and Wyden votes because Democrats were still waiting to know the cost of their proposal.
“We hope Senator Portman offers his amendment to the UI and that it passes. However, it will be replaced by the new UI agreement of the Senate Democrats, which will be offered and approved as an amendment tonight,” he said. assert the Democratic assistant before the vote. .
Both proposals are a change to the House-approved bill that would have provided a $ 400 weekly payment until the end of August.
Democrats held the debate on the coronavirus relief bill for about 12 hours starting Friday at noon as they tried to work out the unemployment language agreement.
Initially, they had indicated that they had an agreement on Friday morning that would have provided the $ 300 unemployment benefit until early October.
But as the day dragged on — and Democrats set a new record for the longest vote in the Senate’s modern history — it became obvious that Democrats were fighting to block Manchin’s support.
Because of the narrow 50-50 margin, Democrats needed the support of their entire group to reach an agreement on unemployment payments. They announced their final deal, which was backed by Manchin, shortly before 8 a.m. Friday.
In addition to paying $ 300 a week, the Democratic deal also omits $ 10,200 in unemployment benefits from federal household income taxes with incomes below $ 150,000.
“Our goal has been to ensure the strongest possible protections for unemployed Americans that could pass the Senate,” Wyden said before the vote.