from The Wall Street Journal,
5/15/20:
Approval caps weeklong effort by Democratic leaders to quash rebellions by wings of party
The proposal, which passed 208 to 199, marks the Democrats’ starting point for talks with Republicans and the White House on the next round of stimulus, and sets the stage for dueling political messages in an election year. Fourteen House Democrats, many of whom were elected in 2018 from swing districts, voted against it. One Republican, Rep. Peter King of New York, voted in favor of the bill.
The House bill includes about $1 trillion in direct aid to states and localities, including grants and education assistance, to deal with the effects of the pandemic. It would put a new round of one-time cash payments into Americans’ bank accounts, extend the duration of enhanced jobless benefits, help cover some rents and mortgages, forgive some student-loan debt and send premium pay to essential workers in fields such as health care.
“The plan that we are voting on today will make a tremendous difference not only in the budgets in the states, but in the lives of the American people,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said on the House floor Friday. “We think this is a major investment in the lives of the American people and in the budgets of our states and localities.”
Republicans made clear that the bill has no prospect of advancing in the GOP-led Senate. “It’s a parade of absurdities that can hardly be taken seriously,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Thursday on Fox News. Mr. McConnell said that he had spoken recently with President Trump and cabinet officials and that they agree another bill is probably necessary but that “it’s not going to be a $3 trillion left-wing wish list like the speaker is apparently going to try to jam down the throats of her majority.”
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