COVID AID STUMBLES IN SENATE -- MANCHIN DRAMA
COVID-19 Stimulus Stalls Due To Joe Manchin’s Gripes About Unemployment Benefits
Democrats are in disarray.
Senate Democrats’ efforts to quickly pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill ground to a halt abruptly on Friday due to lack of support from a key moderate Democrat: Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The unexpected hang-up centers on the issue of added federal unemployment benefits, which are due to expire for millions of Americans on March 14.
Democrats made last-minute changes to the unemployment provisions in order to win over moderate senators. Those changes included providing $300 in weekly added unemployment benefits — instead of the $400 per week Democrats initially included in the bill — but extending the benefits for another month, until the beginning of October. The federal government is currently providing $300 in addition to weekly state benefits, so the change would continue the status quo.
That extension could be crucial because Congress will likely be on recess in August, when benefits would expire under the House-passed legislation. The amendment includes another big change that had been sought by progressive lawmakers: The proposal would waive federal taxes on the first $10,200 of jobless benefits individuals received in 2020, in order to cut down on surprise tax bills for the unemployed.
The deal was meant to unite progressive and centrist Democrats, several of whom took issue with the size and duration of unemployment benefits earlier this week, and clear the way for the bill’s passage. After the White House issued statements endorsing the measure, the Senate began voting on amendments on Friday. But the process quickly derailed when it became evident all Democrats weren’t on board.
Chaos erupted when it appeared Manchin, who this week said he wanted to shrink the size of unemployment benefits and see them end earlier in the summer, would potentially vote for a dueling Republican amendment that would do just that.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senate-democrats-change-unemployment-benefits-covid-19_n_60425a04c5b60208555e46d6
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