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. Under the new arrangement, the first $10,200 that people receive of unemployment benefits will be eligible for a tax break for those making less than $150,000. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) also proposed an amendment to extend the $300 benefit through July 18, which also passed 50-49 but was later essentially overridden by the Wyden amendment. The amendments were made during the vote-a-rama, a marathon voting session where any lawmaker can bring amendments to the floor for a vote that can be passed with a simple majority. Republicans had one less vote because Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) left Washington to his …