Bloomberg
Moderates Flex Muscle on Unemployment, Wages: Stimulus Update
(Bloomberg) — The Senate voting process on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package continues after the first amendment to the bill set a record for the longest vote in Senate history, dragging on for nearly 12 hours as Democrats tried to keep their caucus united.As dawn approaches in Washington, the Senate is working its way through a raft of Republican amendments with no end in sight. The amendment process began after 11 a.m. on Friday.The chamber voted to include the deal Democrats reached within their own ranks to extend until Sept. 6 the $300 weekly federal supplement for jobless benefits.Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged the Senate will “power through” the arduous final process of getting Biden’s first signature piece of legislation passed. The House will need to vote on the Senate’s version, with Democratic leaders pledging final passage by March 14, when current supplemental jobless benefits expire.Moderate Senate Democrats Flex Muscle on UI, WagesModerate Senate Democrats led by West Virginia’s Joe Manchin have flexed their muscles over the past 24 hours, making major changes to the Biden stimulus bill and setting down a marker on the minimum wage.The most consequential changes will come for the unemployed and for businesses which have complained of being unable to lure workers because of the level of pandemic unemployment benefits.The House-passed bill would have…
