McConnell on ‘America’s Newsroom’
‘If it's essential for doctors, nurses, health care workers, truck drivers and grocery store workers and many other brave Americans, then it is essential for senators to carefully man hours and support them. We are going to focus on the job we need to do for the American people and I think we can conduct our business safely.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined ‘America’s Newsroom’ today to discuss ongoing COVID-19 relief proposals and reopening the economy. See below for highlights or click here to listen to the full interview.
On Ensuring State and Local Funding Remains Focused on COVID-19:
“The point is we are not interested in borrowing money from future generations to send down to states to help them with bad decisions they’ve made in the past unrelated to the coronavirus epidemic. We are more than happy, and already have, sent $150 billion down to states and localities to deal with the pandemic.”
On Legal Protections for Frontline Workers:
“I think any additional assistance that we provide for state and local government also needs to include some things that are important for everybody else. That is the doctors, the nurses, the hospitals, the brave businesses that will be reopening concerned about an epidemic of lawsuits that will be brought by the plaintiff all over America in the wake of this pandemic. We don't need an epidemic of lawsuits in the wake of the pandemic.
“So if we do another rescue package, and we may, we need to take our time and do it right and it needs to include these liability protections so that all these brave workers and brave businesses that will be reopening are not subjected to the second epidemic.”
On Reconvening the Senate:
“We can modify our routines in ways that are smart and safe but we can honor our constitutional duty to the American people and conduct our business in person. If it's essential for doctors, nurses, health care workers, truck drivers and grocery store workers and many other brave Americans to keep carefully manning their own duty stations during the pandemic, then it is essential for senators to carefully man ours and support them. We are going to focus on the job we need to do for the American people and I think we can conduct our business safely.
“We have many confirmations for example, the Senate is a personnel business, the House is not -- that have been bottled up by the Democrats even before the pandemic so we have much work to do with the American people and we think we can do it safely.”
Related Issues: Small Business, COVID-19, Back to Work
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