Schumer's summer parting gift to vulnerable Dems
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) leaves a news conference on Capitol Hill on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is giving Democrats one more "show vote" for campaign season before waving goodbye to Senate Republicans for the summer.
Why it matters: Senate Republicans are likely to vote against a bipartisan tax package later this week that would extend an expanded version of the Child Tax Credit — a Democratic priority.
- While a few Senate Republicans have signaled support for the package, it is almost certainly going die due to a lack of GOP votes when Schumer seeks to advance it before the Senate breaks Thursday for its August recess.
- Democrats, especially those in competitive races, are likely to use GOP votes against the tax package to attack their opponents.
- The enhanced version of the Child Tax Credit expired last year.
The intrigue: Schumer was facing pressure from some of the chamber's most vulnerable Democrats to hold a vote on the bill.
- Democrats on the powerful Senate Finance Committee had also privately urged Schumer to move on the measure — which he will do with just over a day left before a long summer break.
The big picture: Extending the expanded Child Tax Credit could have lifted half a million children out of poverty, according to an estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
- The bill would also restore the full deductibility of research and development investments that expired at the end of 2022, which is an olive branch to the business community and a victory for Republicans.
Yes, but: Top Senate Republicans — feeling bullish about their chances of winning a majority on Nov. 5 — had essentially stepped away from the negotiating table, hoping they will have a shot at their own bill in the next Congress.
What they're saying: Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who runs Senate Democrats' campaign arm, told Axios that "if (Republicans) are pro-family, this is an opportunity for them to vote pro-family."
- "If they don't, it's clear they're being hypocritical," Peters said.
- But National Republican Senatorial Committee Spokesman Mike Berg countered that Democrats are merely "trying to distract from the fact that their harmful economic policies have made life unaffordable for the American people."
- "Now, they are lining up behind San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris, who wants to pass socialist policies that will lead to massive tax hikes and even higher prices," Berg said.
Catch up quick: The Senate spent most of the early part of the summer holding other "show votes" on items that had no chance of passing but were meant to force Republicans into tough position.
- Reproductive rights and gun control — two of the Democrats' top campaign issues — were among the topics of the "show votes."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
