GOP’s ‘skinny’ Covid stimulus package soundly defeated in U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate Republicans”™ $500 billion “skinny” coronavirus stimulus package has fallen well short of approval, with the likely result that further federal aid during the Covid-19 pandemic will not arrive before the Nov. 3 election.

McConnell

The bill failed by a 52-47 vote, with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky the only Republican to join all Senate Democrats in rejecting the plan; the bill needed 60 votes to pass.

The “skinny” bill ”“ as opposed to a $1 trillion stimulus bill that the GOP was pushing in July but never came to a vote ”“ would have:

  • provided weekly federal unemployment benefits of $300 through the week ending Dec. 27, retroactive to July, when the original $600 per week expired. The $300 would be in addition to the $300 that President Donald Trump authorized in August, although that sum is expected to expire within a few weeks;
  • allowed certain small businesses to apply for a second loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP);
  • provided $105 billion to help schools reopen;
  • written off $10 billion in earlier debt at the U.S. Postal Service; and
  • s et aside $31 billion for a coronavirus vaccine, $16 billion for virus testing and $15 billion to help child care providers reopen.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) described the bill as “so emaciated, so filled with poison pills, so partisanly designed.” Democrats favor their own $3 trillion stimulus package that passed the House in May but has yet to be brought forth for a Senate vote.

“Let”™s not have a skinny bill when we have a massive problem,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California).

“They can tell American families they care more about politics than helping them,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said.

“This wasn’t a serious bill and everybody knows it,” declared U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D). “Until Mitch McConnell stops boycotting negotiations, there’s no way we can get a bill done that provides the help that millions of desperate Americans need. This isn’t a time for political games — people are suffering, schools are running out of money, the post office is broke, businesses are going under, and the virus is still spreading.

“McConnell needs to come to the table and work out a compromise with Senator Schumer and Leader Pelosi,” he continued. “Putting partisan bills up for votes in a divided Congress, this late in the session, accomplishes nothing.”

“Small businesses do not need political showmanship that goes nowhere and ignores the desperate financial circumstances that millions of Americans are facing,” said Amanda Ballantyne, executive director of the lobbying group Main Street Alliance. “Had Senate GOP leadership really wanted to pass a relief bill, they absolutely had the power to negotiate a deal.

“What we saw today with the failed Senate vote was a dog-and-pony show for the election — ticking off a box to help buffer criticism of frontline GOP Senate candidates,” she added. “It”™s just shocking when you consider the real need out there right now.”

Small businesses “need a comprehensive set of programs, including grants and subsidies, a PPP overhaul, and a substantial investment in the state and local budgets to survive and thrive through this crisis,” Ballantyne said, noting that nearly 30 million Americans are currently receiving some kind of financial aid and that some cities are looking at losing over one third of their small businesses.

“We must make small businesses a priority, right now,” she said. “It seems like the large corporations are the only ones getting the support and attention they need.”