Just before midnight, the Senate quickly accepted a variety of amendments. The votes were mostly on Republican proposals that were almost certain to fail, but aimed at forcing Democrats to cast politically inappropriate votes. It was unclear how long the “vote-a-rama” would last over the weekend.
Most significantly, the unemployment benefit agreement suggested that it was only a matter of time before the Senate approved the bill. This would send him back to the House, which was supposed to give Congress final approval and send him to Biden for his signature.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden supports the agreement on paying unemployed people.
Friday’s long stalemate underscored the headaches that party leaders face over the next two years – and the tensions between progressives and centrists – as they try to move their Congressional agenda with their thin majorities.
Manchin is probably the most conservative Democrat in the House and a creator of kings in the 50-50 Senate. But the party cannot lean too far into the center to win Manchin’s vote without jeopardizing progressive support in the House, where they have an advantage of just 10 votes.
Helping unemployed Americans is a top priority for Democrats. But it is also an issue that separates progressives who seek to help unemployed voters deal with the bleak economy and Manchin and other moderates who want to cut some of the bill’s costs.
Biden noted that Friday’s employment report shows that employers added 379,000 workers – an unexpectedly strong result. That is still small compared to 10 million fewer jobs since the pandemic hit a year ago.
“Without a bailout plan, those gains are going to slow down,” said Biden. “We cannot take one 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 solid wall of opposition from the Republican Party, and Republicans have used the unemployment stalemate to accuse Biden of refusing to seek an agreement with them.
“You could pick up the phone and get it over with right now,” Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said of Biden.
But in an encouraging sign for Biden, a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center found that 70% of Americans support their treatment of the pandemic, including a notable 44% of Republicans.
The House passed a relief bill last weekend that included $ 400 a week in unemployment benefits – in addition to regular state payments – until August. Manchin hoped to reduce those costs, saying that the level of pay would discourage people from returning to work, a justification that most Democrats and many economists reject.
When the day started, Democrats said they had reached an agreement between party moderates and progressives, extending emergency unemployment benefits by $ 300 a week in early October.
That plan, sponsored by Senator Tom Carper, D-Del., Also included tax breaks on some unemployment benefits. Without it, many Americans who were cut off from their jobs would face unexpected tax bills.
But around noon, lawmakers said Manchin was ready to support a less generous Republican version. This led to hours of negotiations involving White House advisers, Senate Democrats and Manchin, as the party tried to find a way to save its unemployment benefits package.
The deal announced on Friday night would provide $ 300 a week, with the final check paid on September 6, and includes tax relief on benefits.
During the vote-a-rama, the Senate narrowly passed an amendment by Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, which would have extended the $ 300 unemployment benefit until July 18. But Portman’s victory was short-lived and the proposal was canceled when the chamber subsequently approved the Democrats’ unemployment insurance proposal.
Before the unemployment insurance drama began, senators voted 58-42 to eliminate a progressive priority, a gradual increase from the current minimum wage from $ 7.25 an hour to $ 15 over five years.
Eight Democrats voted against this proposal, suggesting that Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., And other progressives who promise to continue the effort in the coming months will face a difficult struggle.
This vote started shortly after 11 am EST and was not formally closed until almost 12 hours later, when the Senate’s work was interrupted in the midst of the unemployment insurance negotiations.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell rebuked Democrats, calling his day-long effort to make the unemployment amendment a “show.”
“What this proves is that there are benefits to bipartisanship when you’re dealing with an issue of this magnitude,” said McConnell.
Republicans have criticized the general relief bill as a liberal spending festival that ignores that the growing number of vaccinations and signs of an agitated economy suggest that the two crises are easing.
“Democrats have inherited a tide that was already changing.” McConnell said.
Democrats reject this, citing job losses and countless 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 Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. “It is not for the lower half of America. It is not.”
Friday’s stalemate due to the unemployment benefits stalemate was not the first delay in the aid package. On Thursday, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Forced city officials to read aloud the entire 628-page bill, an exhausting task that took 10 hours and 44 minutes for officials and ended little. after 2am EST.
Democrats made a series of other late changes to the bill, aimed at gaining support. They ranged from extra money for food programs and federal subsidies for health care for workers who lose jobs to funds for rural health care and language guaranteeing minimal amounts of money for smaller states.
In another late negotiation that satisfied the moderates, Biden and the Senate Democrats agreed on Wednesday to make some of the highest paid ineligible for direct checks to individuals.
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Associated Press staff writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.