House Senate Republicans and President Trump announced that the so-called Heroes Act is dead, but House Democrats passed a $ 3 trillion Corona virus relief bill Friday night.
California Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy complained that the 1,800-page bill was “the largest bill in congressional history” – and it was released this week without a committee hearing.
Democrats backed the bill, arguing that the Republican Party’s footwork forced them to move forward with a unilateral proposal.
“There is pain. There is suffering. There is death all over the land. Congress must act to provide relief to the American people, ”said House Representative Hakim Jeffries (D-NY), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
The bill voted “no” to 14 left-wing and centrist Democrats and one Republican – New York’s Rep. Peter King – voted in favor.
Prior to the passage of the bill, Democrats approved proxy voting for future legislation and defeated the GOP’s push to ban illegal immigrants from receiving stimulus checks.
After a series of late-night talks between Democrats and White House representatives, Congress previously passed four major coronavirus relief packages.
After passing the fourth major bill last month, Republicans said they wanted to pause the response and criticize the proposed state bailouts.
The new relief bill has nearly $ 1 trillion in funding for state and local governments, which Republicans, including Trump, have been wary of providing.
It will recognize another round of stimulus checks of up to $ 1,200, create a $ 200 billion “Heroes Fund” for medical workers at risk, allocate $ 175 billion for rent and mortgage assistance, and spend $ 75 billion on virus testing and communication tracking.
The bill would extend federal spending to $ 600 a week on unemployment insurance payments until January 2021. Currently this incentive runs until July.
Additional items include $ 10 billion for food stamps, $ 25 billion for the postal service, $ 3.6 billion for state election offices and $ 5.5 billion for expanding high-speed Internet to libraries and homes.
The bill also proposes new funds for census and health insurance plans.
The bill would provide relief to wealthy people in high-tax states such as New York by eliminating the $ 10,000 federal and local tax (SALT) deduction for 2020 and 2021.
Republicans objected to their ruling that they should fund abortions Refrain from deporting illegal immigrants.
In response to the wide range of priorities included in the package, the bill would authorize banks to work with state-legal cannabis businesses.
“This is really an exercise in legislative futility,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Who managed the Republican House floor debate. “Madam Speaker, sending this straight to Santa Claus makes more sense in my view.”
While Democrats allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ga.) To vote, some Democrats even acknowledge that the bill is the starting point for negotiations.
“Each [the coronavirus bills] It has been launched with a negotiated plan to achieve bipartisan support, ”Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Told The Post.
McConnell vowed Friday that the House bill is not going anywhere.
McConnell said the Heroes Act “reads like the Speaker of the House has put together inconsistent opinions from his Liberal members and slapped the word ‘Corona virus’ on top of it.”
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