As more details are released to the public, it’s clear that the Republican coronavirus relief bill will – surprise, surprise – largely benefit well-off Americans and corporations, while leaving the lower and middle-class with very little assistance.
As PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley noted on Thursday, citing policy experts,”[T]he Senate Republican coronavirus stimulus plan would benefit the better off while giving poor and working people little help.”
“Instead of funneling money to hospitals and the states to fight the virus,” Easley continued, “Republicans are making token political gestures while bailing out corporations, and ignoring the national emergency that is right under their noses.”
That’s why House Democrats are working to craft their own relief package that will go “bigger and broader” than what’s being proposed by Senate Republicans.
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“We want to make sure that we get adequate relief to people who need it most, and that there be some economic sideboards on the things we do, so that we’re not just sending checks to wealthy people who don’t need money, so that we’re not just rewarding corporations,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), according to The Hill.
The report noted that Democrats will press for “a broader expansion of unemployment benefits, a boost in Social Security payments and new funding for job training.”
Additionally, House Democrats want to include provisions to boost infrastructure spending and set up funding for an all-mail voting system so the American people can still vote if the pandemic continues into the fall.
On Thursday, Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) also proposed a plan that would go well beyond what Republicans are offering. The Alabama Democrat’s proposal would actually give Americans’ their full salary, not a flimsy, one-time payment.
Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) has a plan for out-of-work Americans that goes well beyond what the GOP is proposing in its flimsy relief package. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/dKyuizuD8Z
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 20, 2020
This crisis demands bold action
America is only in the beginning stages of this crisis, both on a public health and economic level. It’s likely to get much worse and touch just about every life in this country.
In addition to the growing number of people catching this virus, millions of others are out of work, missing paychecks, and watching their retirement accounts fall through the floor as the stock market continues its tumble.
These Americans are looking for their leaders to have their backs, not use this crisis to shower big corporations and special interests with bailouts and tax cuts while hardworking people get nothing but scraps.
Lawmakers in both parties have an opportunity to join together and go big for the American people. So far, the Republicans are going small.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
