Washington, D.C. – Aid to alleviate unemployment is becoming the center of legislative debate in the United States regarding the next package in the midst of the pandemic.
Republicans make plans for a phase out of pandemic-related unemployment benefits to encourage people to return to work, although it is unclear whether there will be jobs to return to.
“Republicans and the White House seek consensus on the need to redesign unemployment benefits so they are not a barrier to returning to work“Rep. Kevin Brady, the highest-ranking Republican on the Lower House Ways and Means Commission, said in a press conference call. President Donald trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell met at the White House to discuss the matter.
Last week, the lower house approved a new $ 3 billion aid package pushed by its president, Nancy Pelosi. But the Senate, where McConnell is president, says he has no urgency to take action, and senators are expected to address the issue of aid in June.
With nearly 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus and more than 38 million layoffs, some lawmakers find Washington’s inactivity unsustainable. But Congress has left behind the political consensus it reached at the start of the crisis and is dividing again according to the well-known partisan guidelines.
The difference in approaches and priorities between Democrats and Republicans reflects the partisan divide that defines them for the 2020 election.
A Republican, Senator Cory Gardner, urged the Senate not to go into recess before discussing aid. “This is not the time for the Senate to go home,” Gardner tweeted, facing a tough re-election contest in his Colorado state.
But the senators left until after the long Memorial Day weekend, the day of commemoration of those fallen in war
While the lower house is sitting remotely, the Senate in Washington owns the legislative scene. But the upper house, which is pleased to describe itself as the world’s most extraordinary deliberative body, devoted the May debates to anything but the pandemic. It confirmed several judges and officials nominated by Trump, including National Director of Intelligence John Ratcliffe.
“It is as if the COVID crisis did not exist”Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic bloc, said in an interview with ABC. “What madness. It is so bad. ”
McConnell alleged that his venue spearheaded approval of the previous $ 2 trillion package. It is worth evaluating how they are spending the money, he said, before approving more. He says the lower house-approved $ 3 trillion package is an “expression of wish on the left.”
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