The $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan faces a potential Senate wood chipper as lawmakers are considering making changes to the giant law.
The House passed the legislation Friday and sent it to the Senate, where it could come next week. The leadership wants the bill to be signed into law in mid-March, with a duty to move it quickly through Congress.
But before Senate Democrats can pass the bill, they have to go through an hour-long round of voting known as a vote-a-rama, where any senator can table an amendment. For any changes, the coronavirus aid package must be returned to the House of Representatives.
“There are talks about a little different approach to some of these provisions … [But] we don’t want to derail the reconciliation, ”said Sen. Dick Durbin
Dick Durbin Partisan headwinds threatens Capitol riot committee Murkowski decision on Teeth as nomination in limbo Democrats ask FBI for plans to tackle domestic extremism after Capitol attack MORE (D-Ill.), Referring to the budget process that Democrats use to move legislation forward. “We want to do something that is politically viable with House collaboration.”
Her. John Cornyn
John Cornyn Politics, Not Racism or Sexism, Explains Opposition to Cabinet Nominees Biden Biden Promises Support for Texas Amid Recovery from Winter Storm Partisan Headwind Threatens Capitol Riots Commission MORE (R-Texas), asked what to expect from Republicans, added, “I think people would like to have a chance to put marks and make their point.”
With action in the Senate that is normally tightly monitored, Vote-a-Ramas represents one of the few chances senators can enforce votes. An earlier vote-a-rama earlier this month on the budget resolution – which overturned the COVID-19 support bill – spawned more than 800 amendments, the debate of which began in the afternoon and lasted until after 5:00 a.m.
But most of the amendments during that debate were non-binding, making them little more than political messages. The stakes are being raised in the upcoming debate as any successful change would change the bill and force it back to the lower house.
“I think you’ve gotten a bit of a look ahead, but the budget resolution is not a law… and this will so I think you can expect a robust amendment process,” said Cornyn.
An 11-hour curveball is what the Senate ultimately does on the federal minimum wage after the MP ruled that the language increase to $ 15 an hour does not meet the secretive budget rules that dictate what can be included in the waiver law.
The House kept the language of the $ 15 minimum wage, even though it will be dropped in the Senate. Democrats are struggling to see if they can put language into law that would lead big companies to enact a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour.
The idea was supported by the chair of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden
Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenHouse Democrats Pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 Minimum Wage Hike Embossed Bill House To Vote Tight On COVID-19 Aid Package On The Money: Democrats Struggle To Save Minimum Wage Hike | Personal incomes rise, inflation remains low after stimulus MORE erupts (D-Ore.) And chairman of the Senate Budgets Committee Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersHouse Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 emergency bill with minimum wage hike House wants tight vote on COVID-19 emergency package On The Money: Democrats struggle to save minimum wage hike | Personal incomes rise, inflation remains low after stimulus MORE erupts (I-Vt.), And a senior Democratic assistant said Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerThe bizarre backstory of the filibuster Hillicon Valley: Biden signs order on chips | Hearing on Misinformation in the Media | Facebook’s deal with Australia | CIA Nominee at SolarWinds House Rules Releases New Text of COVID-19 Emergency Proposal MORE (DN.Y.) “looks at” adding to the bill coronavirus relief.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) Manchin Progressives Vaporize Over Senate Setbacks Politics, Not Racism or Sexism, Declare Opposition to Cabinet Nominees Biden House Democrats Pass Dramatic .9T COVID-19 Emergency With Raising Minimum Wage MORE (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Who opposed the $ 15 per hour minimum wage increase, have not yet weighed in.
Other bipartisan discussions about making additional changes to the package are ongoing.
Her. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins Collins urges Biden to rethink order at US-Canada border Media circles conspiracy theorist Neera Tanden’s carts Why the ‘Never-Trumpers’ Flopped MORE (R-Maine) said she spoke to Democrats about possible changes, such as raising the income limit for Americans to receive stimulus payments, with those making more than $ 200,000 receiving a partial check.
Durbin, who was asked about the comments, added, “That is one of the issues that the two-party group of senators has been raising from the start.”
During the budget vote-a-rama, a bipartisan group of senators tabled an amendment to express support to ensure that “higher-income taxpayers do not qualify”. The amendment, which was not binding, was finally passed by a vote of 99-1.
According to the coronavirus bill, individuals making up to $ 75,000 and couples making up to $ 150,000 will receive a check for $ 1,400. After that, the amount of the check is reduced until it disappears completely for individuals earning $ 100.00 or married couples earning $ 200,000.
Many of the same group of senators also tabled an amendment to the budget resolution that supported the federal unemployment benefit ceiling at $ 300 a week. The house bill limits payment to $ 400 per week.
While six Democratic senators were co-sponsors of the budget resolution amendment, it is unclear whether there would be enough support to get a similar change to the coronavirus law – a move that would provoke outrage for progressives in both chambers.
Her. Jon Tester
Jonathan (Jon) Tester Democrats Reluctant To Take Taxes Amid Pandemic Jennifer Palmieri: ‘Ever Since I Woke Up Politics I Wanted To Be Politics’ Democrats In Deadlock Over Minimum Wage MORE (D-Mont), one of the co-sponsors of the budget change, said he supports $ 400 a week and had not yet looked into how the House law handled the stimulus controls.
When asked about the potential for bipartisan support for lowering the weekly payment limit, Collins noted that “there was once a general consensus on this.”
Schumer has urged members of the Democratic Senate College to propose any changes to the bill so that it can be incorporated into legislation before it is passed by the House. While Democrats initially did not propose changes to the budget resolution, they ultimately supported dozens.
Please continue to provide feedback and ideas to my office and the Senate committees on the bill. We have already incorporated many of your suggestions, as well as a number of bipartisan proposals, into the bill and the Senate is on track to send a robust $ 1.9 trillion package to the president’s office, ”Schumer wrote in a statement. “Dear colleague” letter.
Republicans, meanwhile, are plotting their own potential changes, after winning big in the budget vote-a-rama, and could back amendments to water down the legislation, even though all 50 GOP senators are expected to oppose the final bill. will vote.
“By thinking strategically and tactically, I think you almost have to ask yourself ‘do you want to make it better,’ and I think you do,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer
Kevin John Cramer On The Money: Manhattan DA Obtains Trump Tax Returns | Nominee Biden previews post-Trump trade agenda | Biden Faces First Setback as Teeth Staggered OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senate Confirms Former Michigan Governor Granholm as Secretary of Energy | GOP Bill Would Rule Trump Rule on Fossil Fuel Financing, Weapons | codifying Kennedy apologizes for calling Haaland a ‘whack job’ GOP law would codify Trump rule on fossil fuel financing, weapons MORE (RN.D.) on supporting change while resisting the blanket bill.
Her. Todd Young
Todd Christopher YoungGraham: Trump will be ‘helpful’ to all Senate incumbent GOP operators Biden signs supply chain order after ‘positive’ meeting with lawmakers Republican 2024 hopefuls draw early battle lines for post-Trump era MORE (R-Ind.) And Tom Cotton
Tom Bryant CottonSunday Shows Preview: 2024 Hopefuls Gather At CPAC; House passes coronavirus relief; Vaccination Effort Continues The Memo: CPAC Fires Launch Gun On 2024 Democrats Scramble To Save Minimum Wage Hike MORE (R-Ark.) Received bipartisan support for an amendment during the budget vote-a-rama to support not giving incentive checks to undocumented immigrants – though Democratic leaders claimed it would have legally impacted family members in the United States as well States.
Young suggested that lawmakers were trying to address the issue in the House of Representatives to avoid an amendment vote in the Senate, but that if it didn’t get worked out, he would offer the same amendment to the coronavirus law that previously had the backing of eight Democrats. .
“I assume it is a political conservation effort,” he said of attempts to address the issue in Parliament. “But if it promotes good public policy, I’m all for it.”