Senate stalls on extending UI, as $600 weekly benefit expires

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CBS News

The Senate has stalled on extending the popular unemployment benefit paying out-of-work Americans $600 per week, a CARES Act provision that formally expires Friday.

For now, it has passed a "shell" bill — 47 to 42 — that did not include any details but was proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in an attempt to break the stalemate in negotiations over the next coronavirus relief bill.

In a speech on the Senate floor, McConnell blamed congressional Democrats for allowing the enhanced unemployment benefits to lapse. No Democrat voted in favor of advancing the bill. Republicans Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, and Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, joined Democrats in rejecting the motion, and eleven senators did not vote.

House Democrats passed a $3 trillion bill in May that would have extended the benefits for those without work at the current level of $600 per week, in addition to their weekly unemployment insurance check.


Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-stalls-on-extending-ui-as-dollar600-weekly-benefit-expires/ar-BB17nSAV?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP

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You could whip your party into shape if you wanted to Moscow Mitch.

[progree]

1. A "shell bill". LOL. Never heard of that before

For now, it has passed a "shell" bill — 47 to 42 — that did not include any details

[BumRushDaShow]

3. They have actually done that before

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/10/how-the-senate-can-finesse-the-constitution-to-pass-health-care-reform.html

It's mainly because as you know, only the House can originate anything that deals with money, so for the Senate to get around that, they try to amend something the House already passed and insert their content as an amendment, and call it a day (with the hope it passes their chamber). At that point, it goes back to the House with a stipulation that since the rest of the bill had already been passed by the House (minus the amendment the Senate added), then it would be expeditious to dispense of any other debate or further amendments, and having a final debate with an up or down vote, "as is".

In this particular case, they can "fill in" the rest of the missing content later. Am thinking the one thing that would be in the shell amendment as a starter/sweetener for the House, is the extension of the $600 unemployment. However they would include other stuff later that would presumably then be considered as already "passed" by the House, once the Senate (or maybe some Joint committee) comes up with the rest of the details.

[progree]

6. Thanks for info. 😊 n/t

[marble falls]

2. Who were the eleven who didn't vote???

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Here - it was a seemingly unrelated bill that had passed the House last December

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/178

Senate roll call - https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=116&session=2&vote=00153 (47 - 42)

Booker (D-NJ), Not Voting
Burr (R-NC), Not Voting
Harris (D-CA), Not Voting
Markey (D-MA), Not Voting
Menendez (D-NJ), Not Voting
Moran (R-KS), Not Voting
Perdue (R-GA), Not Voting
Shelby (R-AL), Not Voting
Sinema (D-AZ), Not Voting
Tester (D-MT), Not Voting
Whitehouse (D-RI), Not Voting

The idea was to use this as a "shell" to tack the economic stuff onto it as an amendment and then send it back to the House for an up or down vote only.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. Of course the republican controlled Senate did (stalling things), their 3 day vacation had to come

first didn't it? Must be nice to be able to take so many days off, when Americans are hurting.