Democrats reach deal on unemployment benefits

[WASHINGTON] Democrats reached a deal on unemployment aid on Friday night, clearing the way for the Senate to continue debating the pandemic-relief bill.

President Joe Biden made public appeals on Friday for passage of his US$1.9 trillion stimulus, meeting with potential recipients of direct payments and highlighting continuing damage in the labor market.

Negotiations on supplemental jobless benefits had stall progress on the legislation, though lawmakers still expect it to pass in the chamber over the weekend.

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 Senate is embroiled in the amendment-proposal stage known as the vote-a-rama.

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.

DEMOCRATS REACH DEAL

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Senate Democrats struck a deal on an amendment to the stimulus legislation to extend the additional US$300 per week enhanced unemployment aid through Sept 6, according to a Democratic aide, after hours of negotiations that had stalled progress on the bill.

The deal also provides tax relief to workers who received unemployment insurance compensation by making the first US$10,200 of unemployment insurance benefits non-taxable for households with incomes of less than US$150,000.

It also would extend tax rules regarding excess business loss limitations for one additional year, through 2026.

The plan would end the supplemental unemployment benefits a month sooner than the proposal Democrats had floated earlier in the day as one of the changes made to win the support of West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

BLOOMBERG