One of President Biden’s biggest selling points on the 2020 campaign trail was that he knows how Washington, and more specifically the Senate, works and could get things done.
On Friday evening he delivered when he helped break an eight-hour stalemate between centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other Democrats on extending unemployment benefits beyond March 14, when they are due to expire.
Under the deal, laid-off workers will receive $300-a-week federal unemployment benefits on top of their state benefits until Sept. 6. And the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits received in 2020 will be tax-free for households with less than $150,000 in annual income.
Democratic senators say Biden was “very involved” in trying to mediate. They say that Biden, who served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009, called Manchin directly to get him to support a compromise proposal backed by the rest of the Democratic caucus.
“President Biden has been very involved as you would expect him to be,” said a Democratic senator familiar with the negotiations.
The senator said both sides had been trading paper back and forth through Friday afternoon and characterized the talks as “delicate.”
The deal Biden helped craft extends weekly unemployment benefits to Sept. 6, which is a week longer than the Aug. 29 end date set by House-passed legislation. But the House-passed bill set weekly benefits at $400 a week, and progressive House lawmakers are likely to be angered by the benefit cut.
“The President supports the compromise agreement, and is grateful to all the Senators who worked so hard to reach this outcome,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement following the announcement of the deal. “It extends supplemental unemployment benefit into September, and helps the vast majority of unemployment insurance recipients avoid unanticipated tax bills.”
“Most importantly, this agreement allows us to move forward on the urgently needed American Rescue Plan, with $1,400 relief checks, funding we need to finish the vaccine rollout, open our schools, help those suffering from the pandemic, and more,” she added.
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Biden played major role in helping break Senate impasse on unemployment benefits https://t.co/4deaPF6M9J pic.twitter.com/VHZwloDNiL
— The Hill (@thehill) March 6, 2021
Unlike the “former guy” who sat on his fat rear and did nothing, this President does get involved. He will communicate, get people together, look for solutions to problems.
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