The chamber planned to start voting around noon on a mountain of amendments, mainly from opponents of the Republican Party and virtually all of which were destined to be rejected. That would put the Senate on course to approve its revised version of the massive measure, probably over the weekend, and send it back to the House so it could beat the final package for Biden for his signature.
Moments after the Senate passed legislation on Thursday, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Forced city officials to read the entire 628-page measure aloud. The grueling task took 10 hours and 44 minutes for employees and ended shortly after 2 am EST, with Johnson alternately sitting at his desk and walking around the almost empty chamber.
SEE ALSO: What it is, it is not in the Senate version of the COVID-19 relief bill
Democratic leaders made more than a dozen late additions to their package on Thursday. This reflected the need to cement the unanimous support of all senators – plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaker vote – to succeed in the chamber precariously divided by 50-50.
The Senate’s 51-50 vote to start debating the package, with Harris pushing Democrats over the top, underscored how they were navigating the package through Congress with virtually no margin of error. In the Chamber, most of them are scarce 10 votes.
The project, which aims to combat the killer virus and help the recovery of the struggling economy, will provide direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for most Americans. There is also money for vaccines and COVID-19 tests, help for state and local governments, help for schools and the airline industry, tax incentives for low-income people and families with children, and health insurance subsidies.
“We will not be shy in the face of a major challenge,” said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.
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The new provisions offered attractive items for all types of Democrats. Progressives have found money to boost food programs, federal subsidies for health care for workers who have lost jobs, tax-free student loans and money for public broadcasts and consumer protection investigations.
Moderates gained funds for rural health care, language guaranteeing minimal amounts of money for smaller states and a ban on states receiving aid using unexpected profits to cut taxes. And for everyone, there was money for infrastructure, cultural spaces, start-ups and after-school programs.
Even with the late revisions, there was a good chance that lawmakers would take one more and vote to reduce weekly emergency unemployment benefits from $ 400 to $ 300.
This potential change could also extend these emergency payments another month, until September. He was described by aides and a lobbyist who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.
Biden and Senate leaders agreed on Wednesday to retain the $ 400 weekly unemployment benefit included in the version of the relief bill that the House passed on Saturday. The reduction to $ 300 – which seemed likely to occur as soon as the Senate initiates a “raw vote” on dozens of amendments later this week – seemed to reflect the need to secure the support of moderate Democrats.
MORE: Highlights of COVID’s Relief Bill as it Moves to the Senate
He also left the Mayor, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., The task of keeping the numerous progressives from his chamber on board. Liberals have already suffered a blow when their number one priority – raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour included in the House package – was kicked out of the Senate bill for violating house rules and lack of support from moderated.
In another bargain that satisfied moderates, Biden and Senate Democrats agreed on Wednesday to restrict eligibility for direct checks on individuals. The new provision completely eliminates payments of $ 1,400 for individuals who earn at least $ 80,000 and couples who earn $ 160,000, well below the original ceilings.
“My hope is that they don’t mess with it too much,” said Representative Jim McGovern, D-Mass., About the Senate in an interview. “If they do, there could be some problems.”
Congress wants to send the bill to Biden before March 14, when an earlier round of emergency benefits for people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic expires.
Johnson told reporters that he was forcing the bill to read “to light up this abusive and obscene amount of money”. Schumer said Johnson “would cause little more than a few sore throats for Senate officials”.
VIDEO: Biden encourages lawmakers to act ‘quickly and boldly’ on the COVID relief bill
Asked about the Republican Party’s delays, Biden told reporters he spoke to Republican lawmakers and added: “We are keeping everyone informed.” Biden met last month with Republican senators who offered a plan a third the size of the Democrats’ proposal, and since then there have been no signs of serious negotiations.
Johnson’s move pointed to a bigger argument from the Republican Party: Democrats were forcing an overpriced bill that disregarded the growing number of vaccinations and other signs suggesting that the country’s pandemic ordeal is starting to subside.
“Instead of entering a dark tunnel, we are accelerating to get out of it,” said Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The economic recovery began to stagnate at the end of last year, with the increase in the virus, causing a drop in hiring in recent months. Employers created just 49,000 jobs in January and cut 227,000 jobs in December. Economists estimate that the February jobs report released on Friday will show gains of 175,000, not enough to quickly recover the nearly 10 million jobs lost in the pandemic-induced recession.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that economic growth will exceed 4% this year without Biden’s bailout package. Republicans cite this as evidence that the economy is upward, but Democrats say strong economic stimulus is still needed to prevent a relapse.
“It is a crisis that still persists, and it is deadly, deadly serious,” said Schumer.
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Alexandra Jaffe and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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