Senate Agrees to $300 Weekly Jobless Aid in COVID-19 Relief Bill

Congressional staffers wait in the ornate corridor outside the Senate chamber during a delay in work on the Democrats' $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, at the Capitol in Washington on March 5, 2021. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

The Senate in the early hours of Saturday voted to reduce the weekly unemployment benefit from $400 to $300 per week for recipients through Sept. 6 in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

The amendment from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was agreed to by a vote of 50–49 after hours of negotiations among Democrats.