Economy

McConnell hints that COVID-19 relief package might wait till early 2021

Published

2 years ago

October 30, 2020

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hinted on Friday that the long-delayed second coronavirus economic relief package might be delayed until the beginning of the new year.

When asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt about the legislative agenda during the next session of Congress, presuming the GOP maintains control of the Senate after November 3, McConnell drifted to coronavirus relief.

Read the full interview transcript here.

“We probably need to do another package, certainly more modest than the $3 trillion dollar Nancy Pelosi package,” said the Kentuckian, referring to the package that the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed back in May.

“I think that’ll be something we’ll need to do right at the beginning of the year,” he added. “We could target it particularly at small businesses that are struggling, and hospitals that are now dealing with the second wave of the Coronavirus, and of course the challenges for education, both K-12 and college.”

The first economic relief package was passed by both houses and signed by the President back in March. A second package has been stalled since the summer and pressure has been mounting for both parties to agree to some form of a deal so that the tens of millions of unemployed Americans can get their stimulus checks in the mail.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

Economy

Biden spends $1.65 trillion taxpayer dollars while vacationing in St. Croix

Published

4 weeks ago

December 30, 2022

Sara Carter Staff

While vacationing in the island of St. Croix for the holidays, President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law the massive $1.65 omnibus spending package.

The whopping 4,155 pages was supported by only nine House Republicans and 13 Senate Republicans. Majority of criticism from the GOP includes concerns that the bill was rushed and crammed with wasteful spending by a lame-duck Democratic-dominated Congress. The recourse will punish American families by adding to the national debt and exacerbate inflation.

“Today, I signed the bipartisan omnibus bill, ending a year of historic progress. It’ll invest in medical research, safety, veteran health care, disaster recovery, VAWA funding — and gets crucial assistance to Ukraine,” Biden tweeted. “Looking forward to more in 2023.”

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell “praised the bill on the grounds that it represents a real decrease in discretionary spending. He presented it as a positive that nondefense spending jumped by only 5.5 percent, from $730 billion to $772.5 billion, amid an inflation rate of 7.1 percent” writes National Review.

“The bipartisan government-funding bill that Senators Shelby and Leahy have finished negotiating does exactly the opposite of what the Biden administration first proposed,” he said. “This bill provides a substantial real-dollar increase to the defense baseline . . . and a substantial real-dollar cut to the non-defense, non-veterans baseline,” McConnell insisted as negotiations were wrapping up.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, however, stated his strong disapproval of the bill before it even advanced. Affirming a letter from 13 House Republicans, McCarthy demanded the bill is reckless, irresponsible, and a “purposeful refusal to secure and defend our borders.”

For example, it failed to incorporate protections for Title 42, the pandemic policy that allows illegal immigrants to be expelled on a public-health basis, which currently hangs in the balance at the Supreme Court.

National Review adds, “The funding in the bill, which averted a federal government shutdown before the new year, includes an allocation of $45 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine. Some Republican priorities, such as Electoral Count Act reform and a bigger military budget, were nested in with Democratic appropriations, such as increased funding for Medicaid and food stamps.”