Senate Republicans block a child tax credit expansion

The bill is a bipartisan compromise that would cut taxes for working families and extend certain tax breaks for companies.

The measure fell short of the 60-vote threshold required to defeat a filibuster, on a 48 to 44 vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted against the bill, arguing that it did not do enough to balance tax cuts for families with breaks for businesses. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) changed his vote to “no” to make it easier to bring the bill up again for a future vote.

“Instead of focusing on the election, Republicans maybe should focus more on the fact that this bill actually helps families,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.

Democrats did not expect to win the vote, and instead planned to use it to train focus on Republican vice-presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio). He voiced support for the legislation before he was tapped as Trump’s running mate and has since come under fire for past comments about the U.S. birth rate.

The legislation was the product of a compromise between Wyden and Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), the chairs of Congress’s tax-writing committees. But the proposal had lost momentum in the Senate months ago after Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), in line to chair the Senate Finance Committee if Republicans win control of the chamber, announced his opposition.

“I expect most Republican senators are going to stick together and back Crapo. We can get a much better deal if we wait. We’re going to get one shot at this, and to waste that shot on this bill — in my judgment — would be foolhardy,” Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) told The Washington Post.

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