On a recent segment of “State of the Union” with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Sen. Bernie Sanders critically evaluated the latest coronavirus relief bill put together by a bipartisan group of senators, which fails to provide Americans with direct stimulus payments.
The proposal has a hefty price tag of $908 billion, allocating funds to raise weekly unemployment benefits, subsidize state and local governments, and replenish the PPP program. The bill includes additional funding that would support education, vaccine distribution, child care, and rental housing assistance.
Utah Senator Mitt Romney and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin both introduced the bipartisan bill last week with a handful of their colleagues. It received criticism from some Democrats, such as Gov. Sanders, for the liability provisions that provide businesses temporary immunity from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Most Republicans support the plan but have criticized its lack of providing Americans with a second round of direct stimulus payments.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a trimmed down version of the proposal but said he would only support a relief bill that includes liability protection for businesses, schools, and other entities.
Tapper asked Sanders on the show about his support in the $1.8 trillion bill Democrats had walked away from. “…they wanted $2.2 trillion and walked away from $1.8 trillion. Was that a mistake?” Tapped asked.
“That’s what I’m saying! That’s exactly what I’m saying! Here was a proposal much much larger, Democrats are, ‘no that’s not good enough,’ and now we’re prepared to accept a proposal that has I think $350 billion dollars in new money?” Sanders said.
He questioned why the bill was being negotiated if it didn’t have enough of what Democrats and progressives wanted. The proposal includes a third of what was asked in the previous bill proposed by Republicans, which was rejected by a majority of the Democratic House members.
However, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner pointed out on CNN that Sen. Sanders is not involved in the negotiations and his characterization is just “not accurate.” He avoided addressing any questions regarding the direct stimulus payments, meaning there probably won’t be checks anytime soon.
“We are looking at trying to give some level of a ‘time-out’ to allow states, if they want, to put in place…COVID standards. That part of the discussion is vigorous and ongoing. And those who want the direct stimulus checks, that will be something that President-elect Biden will grapple with,” said Warner.
He isn’t the first Democrat to use President-elect Biden’s “to-do list” as a filler for answering questions. Reporters asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi why they were accepting this bi-partisan bill. She went on to say it was because President-elect Biden would be in office.
Now that the election is over, most liberals are quick to accept whatever proposal comes their way. They never cared about the struggle or the fight, it was all just a political show until the election was over. The bipartisan bill is a little too late for many and that failure is not something the Democrats should be proud of.
