FACTBOX-What the U.S. Senate voted on in marathon COVID-19 'vote-a-rama'

U.S. Senate Democrats were taking the first step on Thursday toward President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan through passage of a budget resolution, as they voted on a series of amendments in a marathon "vote-a-rama" session that could last into the night. None of the amendments are binding if passed. They are prescriptive, like the budget resolution itself, which instructs committees to get to work writing COVID-19 legislation. But Republicans seized the chance to get lawmakers on the record on contentious issues, and won some of them. Here are several of their proposals:

NO COVID-19 FUNDS FOR SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT REOPEN AFTER TEACHERS VACCINATED Senators Roy Blunt and Tim Scott wanted to withhold additional funding from schools that do not reopen for in-person learning after teachers have had the chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Their motion failed by the narrowest of margins, with 50 senators voting for and 50 against, short of a majority.

Schools across the United States are struggling with when to reopen after having largely shifted to remote learning during the pandemic. In Chicago, where teachers are not getting vaccinated yet, the teachers' unions are resisting reopening. PROHIBIT STIMULUS CHECKS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Senators Todd Young and Tom Cotton favor prohibiting any direct stimulus payments, such as the $1,400 checks Biden proposed, from being distributed to illegal immigrants. Their amendment passed on a bipartisan vote of 58-42. Republicans got eight Democrats to vote with them. Posts on social media claimed that illegal immigrants got such checks previously, but only Americans with Social Security numbers could receive the aid.

NO TAX INCREASES ON SMALL BUSINESSES DURING THE PANDEMIC Senators Marco Rubio, James Lankford and Scott proposed an amendment to protect small businesses from tax increases during the pandemic. Their motion passed unanimously, 100-0.

"There are no taxes on small business in this proposal," Senator Bernie Sanders said ahead of the vote, referring to Biden's COVID-19 relief plan. Biden wants to raise taxes on people with incomes over $400,000 a year, but it is unclear whether some small businesses organized as sole proprietorships could be caught up in such a tax increase.

REDUCE FUNDING TO STATES THAT MAY HAVE UNDER-REPORTED PANDEMIC DEATHS AT NURSING HOMES Senators John Barrasso, Scott and Lankford would reduce COVID-19 funding to states that may have under-reported deaths at nursing homes during the pandemic. It was not agreed to, falling on a tie vote of 50-50.

New York state’s health department may have undercounted the COVID-19 death toll among state nursing home residents by as much as 50%, according to a report released by the state attorney general’s office last week. RELIEVE MOBILE AND REMOTE PANDEMIC WORKERS OF EXTRA TAX BILLS

Senator John Thune's proposal would ensure that medical professionals who traveled across the country to help fight the pandemic do not face increased state income tax bills because they worked in a state other than their ordinary place of employment. Thune's own state of South Dakota does not have a state income tax. The Senate agreed to his proposal on a voice vote.

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