With more than 30 million Americans on some form of unemployment benefits, the additional $600 per-week unemployment insurance boost expired Friday as partisan fighting has marred the path forward on a new coronavirus relief deal.

While Democrats have proposed extending the $600 benefit, which began in March, until January, most Republicans have called the benefits too generous. Republicans have proposed reducing benefits to an extra $200 weekly or, separately, 70% of a personโ€™s wage, something Democrats and some states have said will be nearly impossible to implement.

With the benefitโ€™s expiration, without a replacement, many will see a severe drop in their weekly aid โ€” some by more than 90%. The average American received $921 a week in May in benefits, but with the lapse in benefits those checks will fall 65% to about $321 a week.

With the Senate having left town for the week on Thursday, negotiations have stalled without a policy to extend or replace the payments in sight. McConnell has set up a debate for next week on the Senate floor over the unemployment benefits.

โ€œIโ€™m anxious to see us have a bridge on unemployment insurance so that individuals will not lose their supplemental unemployment insurance while weโ€™re working on a larger piece of legislation, COVID-relief legislation,โ€ said Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah). โ€œWhether thatโ€™s my proposal or others that are being floated around, I do think that we need to have a temporary program that is put in place so we donโ€™t have a gap.โ€

Democrats have continuously rejected Republican proposals, including the White Houseโ€™s idea of doing a smaller package, which would include an extension of federal unemployment insurance.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows made an offer to extend enhanced unemployment at $600 per week for four months as a stand-alone bill, Politico reported, but House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) rejected the offer, pushing instead to extend the $600 per week benefit through the first quarter of 2021.

โ€œThe proposals we made were not received warmly,โ€ Meadows said.

Democrats also rejected a proposal by Senator Martha McSally (R., Ariz.) that would have extended the $600 benefit for one week and another by Senators Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) and Mike Braun (R., Ind.), that would provide, when combined with state unemployment, a two-thirds match to an individualโ€™s previous wage. Federal benefits would be capped at $500 per week and if a state could not dole out a wage-based benefit, they would instead receive a flat $200 per week.

Democrats shot down both proposals, accusing Republicans of carrying out โ€œstunts.โ€

Republicans hope that bringing measures to the Senate floor could help move negotiations forward, even if they arenโ€™t going to become law.

โ€œWe need to get things moving, and this gets things moving. I think our guys want to vote, they want to be able to prove that theyโ€™re moving the ball down the field,โ€ said Senator John Thune (R., S.D.). โ€œI think weโ€™ll start next week debating in earnest, hopefully.โ€