LIVE UPDATES: Harris casts tie-breaking vote after Senate split on passage of massive spending bill
Speaking to reporters after the Senate passed a massive spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “every member of my caucus is elated about what happened because we’ve really changed the world in a way that you rarely get an opportunity to do.”
The GOP Sunday promised payback in the midterm elections after Democrats passed a major social spending and tax bill along party lines in the Senate. The vote was the culmination of efforts by Democrats to pass a bill, using the budget reconciliation process, that lasted more than a year and took on multiple names as its content changed.
Republicans tried to divide Democrats on several different votes, but Schumer's caucus managed to stay united on every key one and kept their bill intact for final passage. "The end is near. I hope. For those of us on this side of the aisle who worked long and hard this is the last substantive action we have to take before final passage of a historic piece of legislation," Warner said."My amendment would simply strike the offset in the previous amendment, known as the state and local tax deduction, and replace it with a two year extension of a so-called loss limitation policy that has bipartisan support over many years.
Harris ignored a question from Fox News Digital on if she is concerned whether Democrats can pass their social spending and tax bill Sunday.Posted by Tyler OlsonThune amendment to fix drafting issue with Dems' tax and spending bill could complicate full passage To pay for that, the Thune spokesperson said the amendment would extend the SALT cap — which limits state and local tax deductions, primarily for wealthy people in blue states — for one year.
"It's just adjustments being made in order, you know we're still trying to keep the numbers and everything what we have," Manchin told reporters late Sunday morning."There's some maneuvering going on." Republicans have been saying that the corporate tax rate, as it appears in the bill text released by Democrats Saturday, would apply to subsidiaries of major companies -- not just billion dollar companies as Democrats initially said.
Because the Senate came into session at 12 p.m. Saturday, and has now been in for 24 full hours, the chamber paused its vote-a-rama proceedings Sunday for a new prayer, according to its rules. But the seven GOP votes, plus all Democrats, were not enough to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to pass. The vote failed 57-43.
Fox News Digital's Haris Alic reported Saturday that Trump lamented both Manchin and his fellow moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., in comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference . Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a rally outside an Amazon facility on Staten Island in New York. Sanders is pressuring President Biden to cut off anti-union companies from federal contracts.
Three Senate Democrats who are in tough reelection fights voted for an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz Sunday that would ban U.S. oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve from being sold to China -- but the amendment needed 60 total votes and did not pass. Sams explained that when oil is released from the SPR, the U.S. Department of Energy is"required by law to sell it ‘in a competitive auction to the highest bidder,’ regardless of whether that bidder is a foreign company.""This bill represents the most significant assault on U.S. energy production the Senate has ever considered," Cruz said.
"This is the wealthiest nation on earth, we should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any country," Sanders said, touting the results of an"almost 40% reduction in childhood poverty," from the American Rescue Plan. The sun rises behind the Supreme Court Sunday morning, as the Senate's vote-a-rama drags on and its session passes the 18-hour mark, with votes likely to last several more hours.
The Senate rejected two more amendments introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders during a Sunday morning vote-a-rama, to make three total failed amendments from the firebrand progressive senator.The Climate Corps amendment failed by a 98-1 vote, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., not voting. The Medicare amendment failed 97-3, with Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., voting in favor of it with Sanders, I-Vt.
The chamber is only on its 13th vote more than five hours after the vote-a-rama began, a pace that's less than three votes per hour. Each vote in the marathon session is supposed to only last 15 minutes. "It's a very cynical ploy for sure," Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said."Vote for one at 60 after you just voted against it at 51. But nothing around here surprises me."
"Despite this, my R friends have made clear they’re completely unwilling to support this bill under any condition. None of their amendments would change that. For this reason, I’ll vote to protect the integrity of the IRA regardless of the substance of their fake amendments," Manchin added. The Title 42 amendment was introduced by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who criticized Democrats as hypocritical for introducing a similar amendment that would require a 60-vote threshold just moments later.
Democrats' unity on those key votes indicates their members are committed to keeping their social spending and taxation bill intact as it was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. "This is a common-sense, straighforward amendment to strike the surcharge on barrels of oil," Hassan, D-N.H., said of her amendment, after the amendment from Graham failed to pass on a 50-50 party line vote.
Hassan replied:"I'll just note the inaccuracy of what was said on the floor about the substance of this." The fact Democrats were nearly unanimous in voting against Sanders' amendment could be a sign that they will treat upcoming GOP amendments the same way, in order to prevet any poison pills from being inserted into the legislation.
The marathon session is expected to include votes on dozens of amendments to the bill, proposed mainly by Republicans. It could drag on for the better part of 24 hours.
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