Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is reassuring Americans lawmakers are close to striking a deal on the next COVID-19 relief package.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Warner during his appearance on “This Week” if the relief deal will come together on Sunday and if it is something he can “live with.”
“The great news is Congress is not going to be the Grinch, we’re going to get this package done and I’m very proud that, in many ways, this package only came about, George, because a bipartisan group of senators spent a month working hard showing the American people that we can actually do things when we have such an amazing need,” Warner said.
He added, “So folks who are going to run out of unemployment the day after Christmas or potentially get kicked out of their apartment or those long lines at the food banks, help is on the way.”
Watch his comments below:
NEW: “Congress is not going to be the Grinch. We’re going to get this package done … help is on the way,” Sen. Mark Warner tells @GStephanopoulos on the COVID-19 stimulus relief bill. https://t.co/kDvDpj09I4 pic.twitter.com/SeFilqJdsM
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 20, 2020
Lawmakers indicated on Sunday they are hopeful they would pass the $900 billion coronavirus aid package, as IJR previously reported.
The bill includes $600 direct payments and an additional $300 per week in unemployment compensation.
During an interview on MSNBC on Thursday, Warner weighed in on criticism of the bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), as IJR previously reported.
“These are folks who’ve never negotiated any deal, that I think, has ever been successful. We’re dealing with a Senate that is still unfortunately controlled by the Republicans. We still have Donald Trump as president — controlling two-thirds, in a sense, of the federal government, the executive, and the Senate,” Warner said.
He continued, “The alternative would have been to have people get kicked off of unemployment, get kicked out of their apartments, not get the kind of food assistance that’s needed.”
President Donald Trump urged Congress on Twitter on Sunday to give Americans what they need.
“Why isn’t Congress giving our people a Stimulus Bill? It wasn’t their fault, it was the fault of China,” Trump wrote.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1340527057151930369
He went on, “GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments.”
