Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) is preparing a vote on the House bill to expand the child tax credit (CTC) later this week, potentially limiting the Senate’s work before the recess of the month of August.
A spokesperson for Schumer announced that a procedural vote will take place on the $79 billion package later in the week.
The vote is expected to fail despite broad bipartisan voting in the House in January. The lower chamber advanced 357-70.
The child tax credit expansion includes an incremental increase in the refundable limit of $1,600 and an adjustment for inflation.
The proposal would also reinstate a number of tax incentives for businesses that were included in the 2017 GOP tax law, including research and experimental expenses and expenses for small businesses.
The package was drafted by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.). But he has consistently faced opposition from a horde of GOP members in the Senate.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a key ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), told reporters he expects Republicans to largely unite to block the bill. He also criticized Schumer for not making a concerted effort to pass the legislative item.
“It makes me wonder how sincere this effort could be if … we run out of time to give a bill its due consideration,” Cornyn said. “I don’t expect this to go anywhere.”
Senate Republicans have been calling for changes to the bill through an open amendment process. They also questioned the bill’s decoupling of the work requirement from the CTC.
“We need a process that allows for some amendments to try to adjust and correct some of the issues,” Sen. John Thune (RS.D.) said in February, shortly after House approval.
Among those on the right who also disagreed with the package are New York lawmakers who are upset that it did not include an increase in the state and local tax (SALT) deduction.
The vote would also come as lawmakers prepare to flee the city for more than a month as part of their annual August recess.
For much of the summer, since the chamber completed work on reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, Schumer has used the floor to hold “demonstration votes” on policy issues that would never pass.
These were largely issues of reproductive rights, an issue that Democrats tried to attack Republicans on before November.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
