The Senate is poised to press forward on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said he would support a compromise deal to extend a weekly $300 unemployment benefit, breaking an hours-long impasse over attempts to change the provision.
For about nine hours, senators negotiated over proposed changes to the massive package’s unemployment benefits. Much of the impasse focused on Manchin, a moderate Democrat who expressed interest in plans from Republicans and Democrats.
The compromise agreement extends the federal unemployment benefit at $300 per week through the end of August, according to a Democratic aide not authorized to speak on the record. The first $10,200 of unemployment benefits would be non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000, the aide said. The original version of the bill passed by the House last week had the benefit at $400 per week running through the end of August.
Senate Democrats had announced a deal on unemployment benefits earlier in the day along similar lines, except with one extra month of unemployment benefits, but it was unclear at the time if Manchin would have supported their proposed changes. In a Senate split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, opposition from Manchin would have killed the change.
Senate Republicans, however, signaled Manchin was poised to support their change to the benefits – an amendment to the legislation cutting the benefit to $300 and also ending it a month earlier than the House’s plan – a scheme anathema to progressives, who had pushed for more generous unemployment benefits.
Manchin said in a statement the deal “enables the economy to rebound quickly while also protecting those receiving unemployment benefits from being hit with (an) unexpected tax bill next year.”
The Senate’s compromises in the bill could create difficulty for Democrats when they try to pass the bill again in the House week. The House already passed the legislation once, but the Senate’s changes require it to pass it one more time before Biden can sign it.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., said she was wondering whether she could still support the bill with the Senate’s changes.
“What are we doing here? I’m frankly disgusted with some of my colleagues and question whether I can support this bill,” she said in a tweet.
The relief package must still be passed by the House one more time, and House Democrats’ slim margin left little room for error. Two Democrats from the party’s conservative wing had voted against the bill the first time it passed the House, though progressives had united around the bill.
– Nicholas Wu
Senate vote-a-rama on stimulus bill stalls for nearly 6 hours
Voting on amendments for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill has been stalled in the U.S. Senate nearly six hours.
Senators had voted on a separate amendment related to minimum wage when that vote was held open as Democrats began negotiating behind closed doors on unemployment insurance issues and an upcoming amendment vote on that.
Both Democrats and Republicans are expected to put forth amendments regarding unemployment, which has become a contentious issue for moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., on both sides of the political aisle.
Democrats were sure they had reached an agreement amongst their party for an amendment to extend the $300 weekly benefit through September. The original bill that passed the House last week upped the weekly amount to $400, but ended the benefit in August.
However, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is offering a similar amendment for $300 that would go through July 18.
His proposal made Manchin, and possibly other moderates, give pause to supporting the Democratic amendment.
“Right now I feel bad for Joe Manchin,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. “I hope the Geneva…
Read More: Senators reach agreement on $300 unemployment benefit after hours of negotiations