As the Coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the United States, leaving many in economic limbo, the Senate GOP has delayed producing any kind of new economic relief proposal for over two months. Their inaction has been a disgrace and has left American families on the rocks while they’ve waited to see what so-called relief proposals that the ideologically self-obsessed Senate Republicans would come up with. On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) released a public statement hammering Republicans for their inaction and laying out the desperate urgency of the situation — Americans, after all, are struggling.
I want to be clear: we saw this coming. The House took action and passed the Heroes Act, which extends enhanced benefits until Jan 2021.
The economic pain & uncertainty that comes next should have been avoided. Shame on the GOP Senate for refusing to act.https://t.co/tpsjLDKxys
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) July 20, 2020
In an early Monday statement, she observed:
‘After 10 weeks of Senate Republicans’ unilateral “pause” on responding to the coronavirus, it remains unclear whether they will release their plan today – even as working families struggle to make rent, children go hungry and unemployment is expiring. Democrats have stood ready to negotiate for more than two months. I call upon GOP congressional leaders & the President’s team to join Leader Schumer & me within a half an hour of releasing their plan today to negotiate and get the job done.’
Democrats have stood ready to negotiate for more than two months. I call upon GOP congressional leaders & the President’s team to join Leader Schumer & me within a half an hour of releasing their plan today to negotiate and get the job done. https://t.co/Savdgh4dmM
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 27, 2020
Over two months ago, the Democrat-led House passed the HEROES Act, which included economic relief for multiple sectors of society and the economy that was meant to help Americans weather the pandemic and its associated economic crises. The GOP-led Senate has refused to take up the legislation, even as the clock has ticked on fundamental relief measures like the $600 a week that has been added on to unemployment benefits across the nation amidst the pandemic, which has left millions without work. That $600 a week is expiring at the end of July, and now, Senate Republicans reportedly want to decrease the add-on to a meager $200 a week — while they, of course, keep raking in their big salaries.
NEW: Senate Republicans want to cut unemployment benefits for 30 million Americans by $400 a week.
This CANNOT stand.
The House passed the HEROES Act 73 days ago, and THIS is what Senate Republicans have delayed to propose?https://t.co/DNFABajLVo
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) July 27, 2020
Recently, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has complained about the possibility of using taxpayer money to financially support unemployed Americans amidst the pandemic. Those unemployed Americans are taxpayers too!
What Mnuchin meant:
I (Mnuchin) am not going to use taxpayer money to help taxpayers, that money is for the continued consolidation of wealth and power at the top. https://t.co/A6xmzZcLLi
— Gregg Housh (@GreggHoush) July 26, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response to Pelosi’s tweets below:
