Politics | unemployment benefits Senate Finds a Unanimous Moment Over Unemployment Senators vote unanimously to end benefits for those who where making $1M salaries By John Johnson Posted Jul 1, 2025 8:06 AM CDT Copied Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) As the Senate continues its voting marathon related to the "big beautiful bill," the New York Times points out one moment of bipartisanship that emerged overnight: The chamber voted unanimously to end unemployment benefits for those who were making $1 million or more in the year before they lost their jobs. The amendment's sponsor, GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, referred to the beneficiaries as "freeloading fat cats" and previously made the case to cut their benefits, per Financial Regulation News. In 2022, her office said in a release, nearly 6,000 such people collected more than $57 million in jobless benefits, or about $10,000 apiece. "Able-bodied millionaires shouldn't expect handouts made possible by the overtaxed and overworked Americans who are running businesses and creating jobs," Ernst wrote. Read These Next James Carville has a new 4-word political mantra. Ozzy Osbourne has died weeks after his "final bow." In-N-Out chain angers its loyal California customers. "Theo" from The Cosby Show has died at age 54. Report an error