Senators voted 48-44 to advance a bill co-authored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) that would have boosted the child tax credit (CTC), among other provisions.
But the bill fell short of the 60 senators needed to overcome Thursday’s initial hurdle.
Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Rick Scott (Fla.) and Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) were the only Republicans to vote to advance the measure.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) voted against the measure.
Vance and seven other senators missed the vote.
The Wyden-Smith bill sailed through the House with wide bipartisan support in January. But the legislation stalled out in the Senate because Republicans feared it could hand a win to Democrats ahead of the election and said it did not impose strict enough work requirements for CTC recipients.
Democratics capitalized on Vance’s controversial remarks to turn that argument against Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) teed up the bill for a vote before the Senate adjourned last week.
“Senate Republicans love to talk about how they are the party of family and business. So it’s very odd to see them come out so aggressively against expanding the child tax credit and rewarding business with the [research and development] tax credit,” Schumer said on the floor of the chamber.
While Schumer initially voted for the measure, he switched his vote to opposition in a procedural move that allows him to call another vote on the bill.
Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, made a similar argument Monday.
“[Republicans] just haven’t been willing, as I said, to actually follow through with their kind of rhetoric. The rhetoric is that they care so much about kids and family. But then when you look at what happened in February, in March, in April, in May, in June — you just go on and on — they haven’t been there,” Wyden said.
Sen. Mike Crapo (Idaho), the top Republican on the Finance Committee, argued that Democrats have made no effort to work out a deal despite months of knowing Senate GOP criticism and accused Democrats of holding certain business deductions “hostage” for a “cynical” political ploy.
“There is no more obvious show-vote than the one … today, immediately before the August recess,” he said.
The Hill’s Tobias Burns has more here.
