Last week Congress passed the largest stimulus bill in U.S. history. The relief package will rush aid to our health care workers, take care of families with emergency needs, increase unemployment insurance payments and aid small businesses so they can try to retain their employees.
But an unimpressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who nearly torpedoed the effort with her laundry list of radical environmental demands, calls the bill a "down payment."
"Every single day the need grows," she reacted on CNN this weekend.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the coronavirus stimulus bill is “just a down payment" and state and local governments didn't get enough, because "every single day the need grows" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/MKIu3M23dS
— CNN (@CNN) March 29, 2020
"We have to pass another bill that goes to meeting the need more substantially than we have," she added.
Pelosi argues that they need to do more, for instance, in terms of family medical leave, and provide more services to health serving institutions. But GOP leaders were somewhat suspicious of her hastiness. When she returned to D.C. last Sunday, she brought with her a list of items that had nothing to do with coronavirus relief. Items like same day voting, greenhouse gas statistics, an offset of airline emissions, and a study on climate change mitigation efforts.
"I'm not sure we need a fourth package," Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said. He wants to see the first three phases of their relief efforts do their work, before they consider a fourth move.
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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) was a bit more direct.
"Nancy Pelosi is frustrated, in part, because she couldn't get some of her most ideological wish list items into this bill," he charged on Fox News on Monday. "We didn't do it this time. We're not going to do it next time."
President Trump reached the same conclusion.Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats delayed the Workers Help/Stimulus Bill by over a week, trying to add real “junk” into the Bill. Got some bad things, having nothing to do with those affected by the Virus, included. Republicans need their votes until we WIN BACK THE HOUSE IN 2020!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2020
We shouldn't be surprised that Speaker Pelosi is questioning the $2 trillion stimulus. She considers $1,000 employee bonuses "crumbs."
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