JD Vance, who lied about Kamala Harris “calling for an end to the Child Tax Credit” in a Fox News interview last week, wasn’t even in Washington for a Thursday vote on a bill to extend the tax credit that failed because of the lack of support from Republicans.
A U.S. Senate procedural vote on the measure, which needed a 60-vote majority to prevent a Republican filibuster, got a 48-44 vote in favor, falling 12 votes short.
Vance, the Republican Party vice-presidential nominee, was in Arizona on Thursday for a campaign photo-op.
The tax credit had passed the U.S. House in January by a strong 357-70 bipartisan majority, but was left to languish in the Senate for the past six months, and not because of Harris, who with President Joe Biden had pushed an expansion of the credit in 2021.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Neb., inadvertently said the quiet part out loud – telling reporters after the House vote that he couldn’t support the tax-credit extension, which benefits an estimated 16 million U.S. children, because “passing a tax bill that makes the president look good, mailing out checks before the election, means he could be re-elected.”
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in a statement after the vote, said he was “disappointed” that Republicans had voted to block the legislation.
“The bill would have also increased the supply of affordable housing, cut red tape for small businesses, and expanded innovation and U.S. economic competitiveness by supporting research and development. American families and businesses deserve better. I’ll keep pushing to pass legislation to cut taxes for working families, lower costs, and support small businesses,” Kaine said.