STALEMATE: Senate Democrats Blocked GOP-Led Small Business Relief Bill–Pushed For Their Own Priorities
If Democrats were concerned about the suffering of individuals, why did they oppose additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program?
On Thursday morning, Senate Democrats blocked an additional $250 billion in federal loans to small businesses as an incentive to keep their employees on the payroll. They countered the Republican bill by insisting on additional oversight of funds as well as more money for hospitals and to state and local governments. The Senate GOP wasn’t keen on adding in pork into a bill aimed at assisting American workers by helping small businesses.
This was initially supposed to be an extension of the Payroll Protection Program that Democrats had fully supported when it was brought forward last month.
The Senate is at an impasse over approving additional COVID-19 aid after Republicans and Democrats blocked competing proposals on Thursday, creating uncertainty over whether and when there will be bipartisan agreement to approve further relief measures amid the ongoing crisis.
Democrats blocked an effort by Senate Republicans to approve by unanimous consent an increase in funding for a small business loan program set up to deliver relief amid the coronavirus crisis, citing demands for additional funding for hospitals and state and local governments. And Republicans blocked an alternative proposal put forward by Democrats, arguing that it is urgent to approve the increase in funding for the program immediately and that other issues can be addressed later.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who offered up the GOP proposal, said on the Senate floor, “we need more funding and we need it fast,” adding, “I want to add more money to the only part of our bipartisan bill that could run out of money.”
“My colleagues must not treat working Americans like political hostages,” McConnell said, “We must not fail them.”
Source: CNN
It’s also being reported that Democrats wanted to sneak in “extra protections” for businesses owned by minorities because when you’re a progressive, you’ve gotta shove that intersectional B.S. into everything.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the extra funding for small businesses a “stunt” that was pulled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Nancy Pelosi on opposing more small business coronavirus relief: “no data as to why we need it”https://t.co/Pv5WO83juJ pic.twitter.com/XJwwEdisBo
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 9, 2020
That’s just disgusting. People are stuck unable to work until May and she’s calling a loan program to keep businesses from going under a stunt?
That woman is an absolute lunatic!
It seems that Democrats are committed to, as House Majority Whip James Clyburn(D-SC) said, to use the pandemic relief bills as a “tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.”
Heck, a whole bunch of them have come out and said it openly.
SUPERCUT!
Dems: Coronavirus an Opportunity to Create Socialist Utopia pic.twitter.com/V5YSi3XeaK
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 4, 2020
So much for caring for the “workers.”
I guess it’s only fashionable for Democrats to support “the workers” when you can also add in money for state and local governments along with the loans allowing employers to keep “the workers” employed.
