一项旨在扩大数百万家庭的儿童税收抵免和实施商业税收减免的法案在周四下午的一次关键测试投票中未能通过参议院。
这项立法以48票对44票未获通过。需要60英镑才能晋级。
在大多数情况下，民主党人投票赞成这项立法，而大多数共和党人投票反对。但这不是一次干净的党派投票。
与民主党人一起参加党团会议的无党派参议员乔·曼钦和伯尼·桑德斯投票反对这项立法。共和党参议员里克·斯科特、乔希·霍利和马克·韦恩·马林投了赞成票。
多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schume)将他的投票从赞成改为反对，以便他可以在稍后的时间召集投票。
在投票前的讲话中，领导了周四对注定失败的立法进行投票的舒默，向共和党人挑战旨在将更多钱放入中低收入家庭口袋的流行条款。
“参议院有机会推进美国家庭和工人减税法案。民主党人准备投赞成票，今天推进两党立法。问题是参议院共和党人会和我们一起给美国人减税吗?还是他们会阻碍众议院以压倒性票数通过的税收法案...?"舒默说。
参议院共和党人反对其融资机制，并声称民主党人提出该法案是出于纯粹的政治目的。
该法案得到了两党的支持，并以357票对70票在众议院获得通过。
共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)在投票前在参议院表示，“今天，在参议院准备离开城镇参加8月份的州工作期间，民主党领导人决定再挤出一张尚未准备好的投票。”。"今天的投票似乎不打算产生立法结果。"
舒默在很大程度上承认，投票是为了让共和党人记录在案。这是民主党人在过去几个月中多次使用的一个举措，迫使共和党人在11月大选前就移民和堕胎等问题的一些条款进行投票。
“这应该是两党合作的。它在众议院两党投票中获得通过，我希望参议院的共和党人能加入我们，”舒默说。“但我也一直很清楚，在必要时，民主党人不会回避在重要问题上取得进展，让美国人民有机会看到他们选出的代表的立场。”
周四的投票进行之际，副总统候选人万斯(JD Vance)正面临着严密的审查他对没有孩子的人的评论在美国，万斯在周日接受福克斯新闻频道采访时暗示，民主党总统候选人副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯反对儿童税收抵免。
“我认为，许多父母和许多非父母在过去四年里审视我们的公共政策时会问，‘我们是如何走到这一步的?我们怎么会走到卡玛拉·哈里斯呼吁结束儿童税收抵免的地步呢?”万斯对福克斯说。
舒默在宣布参议院将于本周对众议院支持的法案进行投票时，称民主党反对该信贷的说法是“简单的老废话”。
特朗普的竞选搭档万斯没有对该法案投票。自从特朗普选择他作为竞选伙伴以来，他一直没有在国会山。万斯在周四早上访问了亚利桑那州的南部边境。
共和党人表示，他们有很多理由拒绝这项提议。
许多人表示，他们反对该法案的融资方式。但否决这项法案也让关于税收政策的辩论持续到2025年，届时共和党人希望他们可能重新控制参议院或白宫。
"它需要回到烤箱，拿出我们的税收改革明年，"参议员托姆蒂利斯说。
Senate fails to advance bill aimed at expanding child tax credit
A bill aimed at expanding the child tax credit for millions of families and implementing business tax breaks failed to progress through the Senate during a key test vote Thursday afternoon.
The legislation failed to go forward by a vote of 48-44. It would have needed 60 to advance.
For the most part, Democrats voted in favor of the legislation and most Republicans voted against it. But it wasn't a clean party line vote.
Sens. Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders, both independents who caucus with Democrats, voted against the legislation. Republican Sens. Rick Scott, Josh Hawley and Markwayne Mullin voted for it.
Majority Leader Chuck Schume changed his vote from a yes to a no so that he could call the vote up at a later time.
In remarks before the vote, Schumer, who led the charge in forcing a vote on the doomed-to-fail legislation Thursday, dared Republicans to challenge the popular provisions geared at putting more money in the pockets of low- and middle-income families.
"The Senate has a chance to move forward on the tax relief for American Families and Workers Act. Democrats are ready to vote yes, to advance bipartisan legislation today. The question is will Senate Republicans join us to give Americans a tax break? Or will they stand in the way the tax bill that passed the House with an overwhelming vote...?" Schumer said.
Senate Republicans opposed its funding mechanism and alleged that Democrats brought up the bill for consideration for purely political purposes.
The bill had bipartisan support and passed the House overwhelmingly 357-70.
"Today as the Senate prepares to leave town for the August state work period, the Democratic leader has decided to squeeze out one more vote that isn't ready for primetime," Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor before the vote. "Today's vote doesn't seem to be intended to produce a legislative outcome."
Schumer largely conceded that the vote was about putting Republicans on the record. It's a move Democrats have utilized a number of times in the last few months, forcing Republicans to take votes on a number of provisions on things such as immigration and abortion leading up to the November election.
"This should be bipartisan. It passed in a bipartisan vote in the House, and I hope Republicans here in the Senate will join us," Schumer said. "But I have also always been clear that Democrats will not shy away from moving forward on important issues when necessary to give the American people a chance to see where their elected representatives stand."
Thursday's vote came as vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance has been facing intense scrutiny forcomments he has made about people without childrenin America, and after Vance suggested during a Sunday interview with Fox News that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris opposed the child tax credit.
"I think a lot of parents and a lot of non-parents look at our public policy over the last four years and ask, 'How did we get to this place? How did we get to a place where Kamala Harris is calling for an end to the child tax credit?" Vance said on Fox.
Schumer called the assertion that Democrats oppose the credit "plain old nonsense" when announcing that the Senate would vote on the House-backed bill this week.
Vance, Trump's running mate, did not vote on the bill. He has not been on Capitol Hill since Trump picked him as his running mate. Vance visited the southern border in Arizona on Thursday morning.
Republicans said they had a number of reasons for rejecting this proposal.
Many say they opposed the way the bill is funded. But rejecting this bill also allows debate about tax policy to continue into 2025, when Republicans hope they may have regained control of the Senate or the White House.
"It needs to go back in the oven and come out with our tax reform next year," Sen. Thom Tillis said.
