There has been a lot of back and forth on a $2 trillion stimulus package intended to help Americans through the coronavirus crisis, most of it due to the discovery of a laundry list of goodies Democrat lawmakers attempted to slip into the bill. Some of the items on the Democrat’s wish list included a raise for House members, same-day voter registration and attempts to force airlines to disclose greenhouse gas emissions for each flight to their customers.
Today, House members struck a deal with the White House to move forward with the bill in its current form. Now, all that’s left is for the Senate to sign off on the bill.
WSJ reports – The legislation will provide direct financial checks to many Americans, drastically expand unemployment insurance, offer hundreds of billions in loans to both small and large businesses, refill drained state coffers and extend additional resources to health-care providers.
“A fight has arrived on our shores,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on the Senate floor. “We did not seek it. We did not want it. But now, we are going to win it.”
Not so fast…
According to Fox News’ Chad Pergram, four GOP senators are ringing the alarm bells, saying that if this bill is signed in its current form, it will have catastrophic results on our fight against the care for victims of coronavirus as well as our economic recovery.
Pergram tweets:
Sens Graham/ScottSC/Sasse want Senate bill fixed: If the federal government accidentally incentivizes layoffs, we risk life-threatening shortages in sectors where doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are trying to care for the sick
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 25, 2020
Pergram claims Senator Scott (R-SC) warned, “We cannot encourage people to make more money in unemployment than they do with employment.”
GOP SC Sen Scott on drafting issue with coronavirus bill: We cannot encourage people to make more money in unemployment than they do with employment
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 25, 2020
Only moments ago, Senators Graham(SC), Sasse(NE) and Scott(FL) and Scott (SC) appeared together for a press conference to explain their decision.
Here is the exact statement from Senator Ben Sasse, where the GOP Senators warn they may block the House coronavirus aid bill over concerns that the bill incentivizes workers to remain unemployed, leaving life-threatening shortages in health care and food sectors.
The radical, anti-corporation, Socialist candidate for president, Senator Bernie Sanders is furious that the Republican Senators have dared to question the results of their bill, threatening to hold off on signing the bill over his objection to the portion of the bill that helps corporations with economic recovery.
Only in Senator @BernieSanders world does it make sense to pay people more NOT to work than TO work.I am all for making people’s salaries whole. However, I am not for increasing people’s salary through the unemployment insurance system.
Only in Senator @BernieSanders world does it make sense to pay people more NOT to work than TO work.
I am all for making peoples salaries whole. However, I am not for increasing people’s salary through the unemployment insurance system. https://t.co/Kc3JfB42TX
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 25, 2020
While many Americans are anxious to get some much-needed help from our government, we should be grateful for a few Senators who are looking forward and predicting a disaster for the treatment of coronavirus and for our economy if this bill is allowed to pass in its current form.