08.02.20

McConnell on ‘Full Court Press’ with Greta Van Susteren

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined ‘Full Court Press’ today to discuss the HEALS Act. See below for highlights or click here to watch the full interview.

On Unemployment Insurance:

“Yeah, what this is about, the extra $600 put in the CARES Act ended up providing the opportunity for some people to make more by not going back to work than their neighbor did by going back to work. So unemployment insurance is important, but what we're trying to do is cure this disincentive to getting back to work in a time of high unemployment. Basic unemployment, extremely important. We also would provide a plus up, just not as generous because we still want to incentivize people to get back to work.”

On State and Local Government Funding:

“Well amazingly enough, the $150 billion that we've already sent down to state and local government hasn't been used by most of the states. In my state, for example, 94% of the money we sent down to the state hasn't been used. So what we're proposing to do in the Republican alternative is to provide flexibility for that $150 billion we've already sent them so they can use it for just about anything. It wouldn't have to be totally coronavirus related.

“And it's important to remember that in every state budget, the two biggest items are education and Medicaid. We provide even more money for education in our proposal than in the $3 trillion House wish list. That's aid to state and local government education.”

On Liability Protection: 

“It's not just for businesses. It's for hospitals, doctors, nurses, colleges, universities, K-12 educators. The last thing America needs is an epidemic of lawsuits on the heels of the pandemic that we're dealing with, which isn't going to end anytime soon until we get a vaccine.”

On the HEALS Act:

“It's focused on liability protection, kids back in school, jobs, and healthcare. That's the focus of our proposal. We don't have anything in there like tax cuts for rich people in blue states like the $3 trillion House proposal that has nothing to do with COVID-19.”