FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) addresses reporters after the weekly senate party caucus luncheons at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted Mitch McConnell for sending the Senate home before voting on the coronavirus relief bill.
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Schumer said:
I’m extremely pleased that the ‘Families First Coronavirus Response Act’ includes the people-focused initiatives Speaker Pelosi and I outlined earlier in the week, including paid sick leave, food security assistance, free testing for those who need it, emergency unemployment insurance, major new investments in Medicaid and more. These are the kinds of measures we need to initiate immediately to deal with many of the problems the coronavirus has created for working families.
It was remarkably irresponsible and out of touch for Senator McConnell to send senators out of town for the weekend in the middle of this public health crisis and before the House passed this vital people-focused legislation. Senator McConnell and Republicans should pass this legislation as is immediately so it can get to the president’s desk so he can sign it right away.
Make no mistake: this legislation is very necessary but not sufficient. There are still desperately needed steps the Trump administration must take to ensure there is enough testing and treatment for everyone who needs it, as well as other broader economic measures that Senate Democrats outlined earlier this week to help states and local communities deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
McConnell sent the Senate home for the weekend in the face of a coronavirus epidemic where the number of confirmed cases is growing exponentially by the day. There is no reason for the Senate not to be in session during a time of national emergency.
Mitch McConnell, like Donald Trump, is making the crisis worse.
The coronavirus bill is not a standard piece of legislation that can be passed through the normal mechanisms of Senate business.
Every minute that increased aid is not available to the states, more people will get sick and die.
The Senate should have stayed in session, and the bill should have been on Trump’s desk by Saturday afternoon.
Mitch McConnell and his party are making the coronavirus even more deadly for the American people.
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