Senate fails to advance bill aimed at expanding child tax credit

(WASHINGTON) — 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 for comments he has made about people without children in 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.

ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

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