Senate Democrats struck a deal Friday night to expand unemployment insurance in President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package after about nine hours of deliberation and halting other actions, according to a Senate aide.
Why it matters: The Senate can now resume voting on other amendments to the broader bailout bill.
- Senator Joe Manchin (DW.V.) backed his party’s proposal for unemployment benefits after hesitating to back an earlier version.
- Helping unemployed Americans is a matter of divided progressives, hoping to help voters who lost their jobs during the pandemic, and Manchin and his fellows who wanted to cut costs on the sweeping legislation.
The big picture: Democrats will now table an amendment to extend the improved $ 300-a-week unemployment insurance plan until Sept. 6. The bill passed by Parliament pushed the program to August 29.
- The deal also provides tax relief to those who receive unemployment insurance from the program by making the first $ 10,200 non-taxable to households with incomes less than $ 150,000.
What they say: “The president supports the compromise agreement and is grateful to all the senators who have worked so hard to achieve this result,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday night.
- Most importantly, this agreement allows us to move forward with the urgently needed US bailout plan, with $ 1,400 emergency checks, funding we need to complete the vaccine rollout, open our schools, help people who suffering from the pandemic, and more. “