Parties make more 'Byrd rule' arguments to parliamentarian
Democrats working to iron out kinks in giant $1.9 trillion virus aid package
By Paul M. Krawzak and Doug Sword
Posted February 25, 2021 at 4:42pm
Excerpt:
Senate aides continued their whirlwind of meetings with the chamber's parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, on Thursday as Democrats ready their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package for the floor of both chambers.
The discussion Thursday morning involving aides to the Finance, Budget and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panels centered on a section of the House-drafted bill that would pump some $86 billion into multiemployer pension plans that are bordering on insolvency.
It's a relatively small piece of the overall package, but the pension fix has huge significance for Democrats' union backers, and among the original cosponsors of similar legislation in the last Congress was Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., one of the pivotal votes in the 50-50 Senate.
Aides were set to discuss continuing health care coverage provisions for laid-off workers under the federal law known as COBRA at a separate meeting Thursday.
That's another issue that both the tax-writing and health and labor panels have split jurisdiction over. It was unclear if legislative language to require employers to notify workers of their rights to the new 85 percent federal subsidies under the provision would make the cut under Byrd as well.
Meanwhile, Capitol Hill was still on edge waiting for guidance from MacDonough on whether the House bill's minimum wage increase to $15 over five years would pass the Byrd test.
On the Senate floor, C-SPAN picked up Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asking MacDonough if she'd made a decision. "We haven't released anything," MacDonough replied.
https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/25/parties-make-more-byrd-rule-arguments-to-parliamentarian/
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