The chamber planned to vote on a mountain of amendments around noon, mostly by GOP opponents, and almost all of which were destined to be rejected. That would put the Senate on track to approve its reworked version of the massive measure, likely over the weekend, and return it to the House so it could bring the final package to Biden for signature.
Moments after the Senate passed the legislation Thursday, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Forced the chamberlain to read aloud the full 628-page measure. The tiring task took the staff 10 hours and 44 minutes and ended shortly after 2 a.m. EST, with Johnson alternating between his desk and pacing around the largely empty room.
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Democratic leaders made more than a dozen late additions to their package on Thursday. That reflected their need to gain unanimous support from all of their senators – plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ breakthrough – to succeed in the dangerously divided 50-50 chamber.
The Senate’s 51-50 vote to begin discussing the package, with Harris pushing Democrats over the top, underscored how they navigated the package through Congress with virtually no margin for error. In the Chamber their majority is a meager 10 votes.
The bill, designed to combat the deadly virus and restore the piecemeal economy, will bring most Americans direct payments of up to $ 1,400. There is also money for COVID-19 vaccines and tests, assistance to state and local governments, assistance for schools and the airline industry, tax breaks for lower-income people and families with children, and health insurance grants.
“We will not be shy about a major challenge,” said Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.
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The new provisions offered items attractive to all kinds of Democrats. Progressives received money to boost nutritional programs, federal health care subsidies for workers who lose their jobs, tax-exempt student loans and money for the public broadcaster, and consumer protection studies.
Moderates raised funds for rural health care, language secured minimums for smaller states, and a ban for states from using aid to use the windfall gains to lower taxes. And for everyone there was money for infrastructure, cultural locations, start-ups and after-school programs.
Even with the late revisions, there was a good chance that lawmakers would make another and vote to cut the weekly emergency unemployment benefit from $ 400 to $ 300.
That possible change could also extend those emergency payments by one month, through September. It was described by assistants and a lobbyist who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.
Biden and Senate leaders agreed on Wednesday to keep the $ 400 weekly unemployment benefits included in the version of the bill that the House approved on Saturday. The cut to $ 300 – which was likely to occur once the Senate begins a “vote-a-rama” on numerous amendments later this week – seemed to reflect the need to gain support from moderate Democrats.
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It also left House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tasked with keeping her room’s many progressives on board. Liberals already took a hit when their No. 1 priority – a federal minimum wage increase to $ 15 an hour included in the House package – was kicked out of law in the Senate for breaking chamber rules and lacking support from moderates.
In another accord that pleased moderates, Biden and Senate Democrats agreed on Wednesday to tighten suitability for direct controls on individuals. The new provision makes a complete elimination of $ 1,400 payments for individuals earning at least $ 80,000 and couples earning $ 160,000, much lower than the original ceilings.
“I hope they don’t mess with it too much,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., In a Senate interview. “If they do, there could be some problems.”
Congress wants to send the bill to Biden by March 14, when an earlier round of emergency provisions for people thrown out of work by the pandemic ends.
Johnson told reporters that he forced the bill’s reading to “shed light on this insulting and obscene amount.” Schumer said Johnson would accomplish “little more than a few sore throats for Senate clerks.”
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When asked about the GOP’s delays, Biden told reporters he had spoken to Republican lawmakers, adding, “We’ll keep everyone posted.” Biden met with Republican senators last month who offered a plan that was one-third the size of the Democrats’ proposal, and there have been no signs since serious talks.
Johnson’s move pointed to a bigger argument from the GOP: Democrats rammed an overpriced bill that ignores the growing number of vaccinations and other signs that the country’s pandemic ordeal is beginning to wane.
“Instead of going into a dark tunnel, we’re speeding out,” said Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader R-Ky.
The economic recovery started to stagnate at the end of last year when the virus emerged, causing staff shortages in recent months. Employers added just 49,000 jobs in January and cut 227,000 jobs in December. Economists estimate that the February employment report released Friday will show a gain of 175,000, not nearly enough to quickly restore the nearly 10 million jobs lost in the pandemic-induced recession.
The impartial Congressional Budget Office estimates that economic growth will exceed 4% this year without Biden’s bailout package. Republicans cite that as evidence that the economy is pointing upwards, but Democrats say a strong economic stimulus is still needed to avoid a downturn.
“It’s a crisis that is still very much with us, and it’s deadly, deadly serious,” Schumer said.
Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Alexandra Jaffe and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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