Debate over additional coronavirus relief packages continues on Capitol Hill. Speaker Pelosi intends to bring her latest proposal, the HEROES Act, to a vote in her chamber on Friday. Once again, Speaker Pelosi’s legislation is filled with partisan line-items, unrelated bailouts and special interest funding. The 1,815 page bill which totals to $3 trillion of federal spending, was crafted without any input from Republicans, and is highly unlikely to move forward. Speaker Pelosi attempts to move this legislation forward while she refuses to call the House back to D.C.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats on their attempt to push their ideological agenda through a relief package, yet again:
House Democrats had a blank slate to propose any vision for the recovery. This draft is all they have done for two months. And they came up with: tax hikes on small businesses, tax cuts for blue-state millionaires, and taxpayer-funded diversity detectives for the pot industry.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) May 14, 2020
Mitch McConnell: "House Democrats have checked out of this crisis and left governing up to the Senate." pic.twitter.com/AAqVbJEFV7
— The Hill (@thehill) May 14, 2020
MCCONNELL: "80,000 Americans have died. More than 20 million have lost their jobs. I call that a crisis; House Democrats call it leverage."
— Senate Republican Communications Center (@SRCC) May 14, 2020
McConnell says House Dem $3 trillion coronavirus bill is "an unserious effort." Says "forget about making law. This bill even fails as a messaging bill"
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 14, 2020
Leader McConnell also echoed the sentiments of House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy on Speaker Pelosi's effort to implement voting by proxy for the House, which is currently under consideration. Republicans object to remote voting, arguing that members of the House should be working in D.C. as the Senate is. Such a rule change would be a complete overhaul of traditional voting procedure:
McConnell on House Dems: They even intend to shatter Congressional history & jam through remote voting so they can continue to be counterproductive from the comfort of their own homes
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 14, 2020
Unbelievable. At a time when millions of Americans are desperate to get back to work, Democrats are about to give themselves a free pass to skip work altogether.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 14, 2020
“Voting by proxy” would let members of Congress stay home while they continue to collect a paycheck.
Nancy Pelosi is about to launch the most significant power grab in the history of Congress. "Voting by proxy" runs counter to 200-years of House rules and the Constitution itself.#DemocracyDiesInDarkness
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 13, 2020
It’s clear that House Democrats are abusing their power.
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) May 14, 2020
Their proxy vote scheme changes 200 years of precedent in a purely partisan manner. pic.twitter.com/NnoCQqeLdo
Speaker Pelosi's spending bill is slated for a vote in the lower chamber on Friday.
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