Dems eye Senate tool to pass COVID relief bill
‘Special Report’ anchor Bret Baier details the new COVID relief bill, the ethics of the White House press briefing, Vice President Kamala Harris’ mistake in West Virginia and more in ‘Reports from America’ ‘.
On Thursday night, Senate Democrats indicated that they supported sending direct payments to undocumented immigrants, while the House was going through a long process necessary to advance budgetary reconciliation measures.
During what became known as vote-a-rama, which follows the debate on a budget resolution measure, senators can submit pertinent, but not mandatory, amendments that must be eliminated before the majority party can proceed with its resolution.
The amendments do not change the underlying legislation, but they can serve as a litmus test to assess support for certain policies.
A minority party can also use vote-a-rama to force record votes on controversial issues that it would otherwise not be able to get to the House floor, which they can later use as political weapons in the next campaign cycles.
MCCONNELL FORCES DEMOCRATS TO VOTE ON PAYMENT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, FINANCING SCHOOLS THAT REFUSE TO OPEN
On Thursday, Republicans forced Democrats to declare the stimulus check eligible.
Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., And Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Proposed an amendment that would prohibit any future payment of economic impact from being sent to illegal immigrants.
“The Biden government should not reward illegal immigrants for breaking our laws by giving them checks,” said Cotton in a statement. “Instead of courting foreigners with US taxpayer funds, President Biden should use that money to help American schools, businesses and families.”
The amendment was approved, but 42 parliamentarians voted against it. All were Democrats, including two independents who joined the Democrats.
As previously reported by Fox News, House Democrats proposed a bill late last year that included some illegal immigrants.
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President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion relief legislation includes an additional round of $ 1,400 checks. A counter offer by the Republicans offers checks for $ 1,000, which would be more targeted at low-income families.
Biden indicated that he is open to changing the limits of adjusted gross income to direct payments.