More from @igorbobic

Igor Bobic

@igorbobic

6 Mar

New: The lesson for Democrats is clear after this week.

“If we [don’t] stay united, if [one] person says, ‘I’m only going to vote for it if it has this’ ... we lose,” Schumer told me in an interview.

On the 50-50 Senate and the difficulties ahead huffpost.com/entry/chuck-sc…

Schumer on Friday's Manchin drama: “We told him if Portman’s bill passed, it would be dead. It took him about three or four hours to realize that and when he did, he came back and said ‘OK, let’s work this out.’”

Schumer said he got three 20-minute naps in during a grueling 24-hour session needed to pass “one of the most progressive pieces of legislation — if not the most progressive — in decades.”

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Igor Bobic

@igorbobic

6 Mar

NEW: Dems have reached an agreement, per an aide. They will now offer an amendment to extend the enhanced UI benefits through September 6 at $300/week — a month less than Carper amendment.

The agreement will still make the first $10,200 of UI benefits non-taxable but ONLY to households with incomes under $150k.

Manchin is on board with this one, for the record:

“The President has made it clear we will have enough vaccines for every American by the end of May and I am confident the economic recovery will follow. We have reached a compromise that enables the economy to rebound quickly”

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Igor Bobic

@igorbobic

5 Mar

The delay on the Senate floor right now is due to an issue involving side-by-side amendments offered by Manchin and Portman on UI benefits, per Kennedy.

Manchin and Portman were huddling off the Senate floor just now. Wyden walked by and spread out his arms wide, as if to say, what’s the hold up?

Huddling in the cloakroom: Manchin, King, Kelly, and Sinema

Read 13 tweets

Igor Bobic

@igorbobic

4 Mar

Just over one hour of reading of the covid bill, and we’re on page 45 of 628

At this pace, we’re looking at clerks finishing reading at about 4am

RonJohn is still in the chamber. It's possible he decides at some point to leave and say he made his point, allowing Dems to skip the reading. In the meantime, continue to #prayfortheclerks

Read 7 tweets