On The Money: COVID-19 relief debate stalls in Senate amid Democratic drama | Manchin holds up bill over jobless benefits | US adds 379K jobs in February

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THE BIG DEAL—COVID-19 relief debate stalls in Senate amid Democratic drama: This was supposed to be the easy part, but Democratic drama over unemployment benefits is snagging the Senate’s coronavirus relief debate.

What’s going on: The Senate has been stuck in a state of limbo for hours as senators try to figure out the path forward on 10 weekly unemployment payments. Senators have filed two competing unemployment proposals: 

• One, from Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), would provide $300 per week through mid-July, a significantly shorter timeline than what’s supported by most Democrats.
• The second, from Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), would provide a $300 weekly payment through September and exempt $10,200 in unemployment aid from federal taxes

Both are changes from the House bill, which provided $400 per week through August, but Democrats unveiled the agreement earlier Friday as a deal worked out by their moderate and progressive factions. Hours later, in the middle of a failed vote on raising the minimum wage, it became clear they were premature.

The Hill’s Jordain Carney breaks it down here.

All eyes on Joe Manchin: In order for Democrats to attach their proposal to the coronavirus bill, they would need the support of all 50 members of their caucus and Vice President Harris to break a tie. But in a significant snag, Portman told reporters that he believes he can get the support of all 50 GOP senators and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to vote for his proposal.

“I think so,” Portman said, asked if he has the entire GOP caucus and Manchin.

Manchin has declined to talk to reporters about the state of negotiations, but President Biden has reportedly been on the phone with him a few times in search of a deal.

Read more about the relief bill: 

• The eight Democrats who voted ‘no‘ on $15 minimum wage
• Senate Democrats’ proposed coronavirus relief package would exempt from taxes student loan forgiveness from 2021 through 2025.

LEADING THE DAY

Economists warn positive jobs report obscures challenges ahead: A surprising February jobs gain and drop in the unemployment rate is obscuring the long road to a full recovery from the coronavirus recession, economists say.

The U.S. added 379,000 jobs last month, more than double what analysts had expected, and saw the jobless rate drop to 6.2 percent, the lowest level since March 2020.

But while the February employment report showed signs of an accelerating recovery, the job gains were just a drop in the bucket compared to the deep damage built up within the labor market over the past year. The deceptively low unemployment rate also ignores the millions of Americans who’ve been forced out of the labor force by COVID-19 and its disproportionate toll on women of color.

I explain why here.

The state of play: 

• February’s employment gains were an undeniable improvement from January’s meager increase of 49,000 and included signs of businesses gearing up for a post-pandemic economy. 
• The hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector added 355,000 jobs, predominantly at restaurants and bars long hindered by coronavirus restrictions.
• Even so, the U.S. on whole is still down roughly 9.5 million jobs from the start of the pandemic, a gulf that would take more than two years to fill at February’s pace.

Why the unemployment rate seems low anyway: The unique toll of the pandemic has also rendered the unemployment rate nearly useless for gauging the health of the labor market.

• More than 4 million Americans have stopped looking for work due to the pandemic, according to the February jobs report.
• Many have exited the workforce to look after school-age children, take care of sick family members, or avoid contracting the virus. 
• Since the jobless rate doesn’t include those not seeking employment, many Americans who would otherwise like to work are not represented in that headline figure.

Read more: Top White House officials took little solace in the better-than-expected February jobs report, insisting that the U.S. was far from a full and equitable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Tuesday:

• The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on the GameStop frenzy and retail investing at 10 a.m.

Wednesday:

• The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on racial equity in housing and financial services at 10 a.m.
• The House Small Business Committee holds a hearing on the future of the Paycheck Protection Program at 10 a.m.
• The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee votes on Shalanda Young’s nomination to be deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget at 9:45 a.m.

Thursday:

• The House Agriculture Committee holds a hearing on food insecurity at 9 a.m.
• A House Ways and Means subcommittee holds a hearing on tax policy and local governments at 2 p.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The U.S. and European Union have agreed to suspend tariffs relating to a long-standing trade dispute for four months, following a similar deal announced Thursday between the U.S. and U.K.
• A notable critic of the biggest tech companies, Columbia University Law School professor Tim Wu, is joining the Biden administration in a role focused on addressing the market power of the tech giants.