The House of Representatives is set to pass legislation to help Americans deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic but the Republican led Senate is not only prepared to block it, up until minutes ago it wasn’t even planning on considering it for nearly another two weeks.
“The Senate will act when we come back and we have a clearer idea of what extra steps we need to take,” Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) told CNN’s Ana Cabrera Thursday.
Many Senators were about to leave Washington, D.C. for recess, and were not planning to return until March 23.
The House is expected to vote on the bill Thursday. Despite opposition from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the coronavirus legislation is expected to pass.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has just bowed to public outrage and begrudgingly canceled next week’s recess.
That does not mean the Senate will pass the House’s bill – McConnell has denounced it as an “ideological wish list,” which is astonishingly false.
The House’s coronavirus bill helps Americans on many fronts.
“The bill expands unemployment insurance by providing states with at least $1 billion to compensate for administrative costs and other contingencies arising as a result of the coronavirus response,” The Hill reports.
“The bill also provides $500 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to provide food assistance for low-income mothers who lose their jobs due to the coronavirus, as well as $400 million to help local food banks meet increased demand.”
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