President Donald Trump says House Democrats’ $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill will not make it very far in the legislative process.
“It’s, as they say, D.O.A. Dead on arrival,” Trump said during a meeting with governors of Colorado and North Dakota on Wednesday.
He added, “Of course Nancy Pelosi knows that.”
Trump claimed the bill is a “voting package” that would hurt Republicans’ electoral chances, “They want to be able to make sure that Republicans can’t win an election by putting in all sorts of mail-in ballots.”
On Tuesday, House Democrats unveiled their new coronavirus relief that is estimated to cost $3 trillion. The bill would provide $1 trillion to state and local governments, direct payments to Americans of up to $6,000 per household, as well as $25 billion for the Post Office.
The bill would also give hazard pay to workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak, extend the $600 increase in unemployment benefits until January 2021, provide assistance to low-income Americans to protect them from evictions, and allocate $3.6 billion to states to bolster election security.
While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hailed the bill as “just what Ameria needs,” Senate Republicans have given the bill a cold reception.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he wants to assess the effectiveness of the previous coronavirus relief bills before Congress passes another multi-trillion bill.
“We’re taking a look at what we’ve already done — we’ve added about $3 trillion to the national debt — and assessing the effectiveness of that before deciding to go forward,” he said on Tuesday.
“What you’ve seen in the House … is not something designed to deal with reality, but designed to deal with aspirations,” McConnell said as he blasted the bill.
He added, “This is not a time for aspirational legislation. This is a time for a practical response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
While Republicans baulked at the new bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, “We have to put money in the pockets of the American people, recognizing the pain, the agony that they are feeling. To those who would suggest a pause, I’ll say, the hunger doesn’t take a pause, the rent doesn’t take a pause, the hardship doesn’t take a pause.”
