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Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill overcame a major hurdle in the United States Senate on Friday after Joe Manchin, the center Democratic senator, struck a deal with party leaders on the extension of unemployment benefits in the legislation.
Manchin’s opposition to an earlier proposal on emergency unemployment aid had stalled progress toward approval of Biden’s plan for hours in the upper house of Congress on Friday, a worrying development for the White House and Democratic leaders.
But the agreement will pave the way for Senate consideration of the stimulus plan to continue Friday night and into the weekend, offering new legislative momentum for Biden’s top priority since entering the White House in January.
Under the terms of the Manchin-imposed settlement, the pandemic-related unemployment benefit supplement will run through Sept. 6 with payments of $ 300 per week, a Democratic aide said. It also exempts the first $ 10,200 of unemployment benefits from tax for households earning less than $ 150,000 in annual income.
“The president has made it clear that we will have enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of May and I am confident that the economic recovery will continue,” Manchin said in a statement. “We have reached a compromise that allows the economy to recover quickly while protecting those who receive unemployment benefits from being affected by an unexpected tax bill next year,” he added.
Manchin’s opposition to earlier language on unemployment benefits, which would have extended benefits through October, had taken Democratic leaders and the White House by surprise, forcing them to negotiate to satisfy the recalcitrant West Virginia lawmaker. At one point, some Democrats were concerned that Manchin might support a rival amendment pushed by Republican senators led by Rob Portman of Ohio that would seek to end unemployment benefits in July.
But the dilution of unemployment benefits imposed by Manchin could prove problematic for the fate of Biden’s bill once it returns to the House of Representatives, where Democrats have a slim majority and cannot afford more than a handful of defections. among progressive legislators. The House passed its own version of the Biden stimulus last Saturday, and it included benefits of $ 400 per week through the end of August.
The need to maintain emergency unemployment benefits after they expire on March 14 has been one of the main catalysts behind the push for additional stimulus from Biden, which wants to offer protection to millions of Americans who remain out of work due to the pandemic. of coronavirus.
Changes in unemployment benefits mark the second big change in the stimulus bill this week, after Democratic senators agreed to reduce eligibility for direct payments of $ 1,400 in the plan.
The upper house is evenly divided between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and Kamala Harris, the vice president, casts the tiebreaker votes.
The strain on unemployment benefits was reached when data from the US Department of Labor showed that job growth rebounded from its winter slump, but is still well below pre-pandemic levels, which prompted Democrats to emphasize the need for more stimulus, as Republicans said the economy would recover without it.
“The February employment report shows some progress, but much more is needed to address the daily reality of unemployment and financial insecurity faced by millions of Americans,” said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the Democratic House, on Friday.
Despite opinion polls showing that a large majority of Americans support the stimulus, Republican lawmakers have mounted united opposition to the legislation, saying that the aid is not targeted enough to those who need it most and that the overall price it is excessive.
“[Democrats] they are determined to ram a wave of ideological spending riddled with non-Covid policies, “said Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, Friday morning.
Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff, responded to Republican criticism on Twitter: “If you think today’s employment report is ‘good enough,’ then you should know at this rate. . . It would take until April 2023 to get back to where we were in February 2020. “
