‘Senate Democrats Chose To Do Speaker Pelosi’s Political Dirty Work’

Once Again, Senate Democrats Block Moving Forward On A Targeted COVID Relief Bill

44 Senate Democrats voted to block the targeted COVID relief bill. (S. 178, Roll Call Vote #207: 51-44, R 51-0, D 0-42, I 0-2, 10/21/2020)

Axios: “Senate Democrats block vote on McConnell’s targeted COVID relief bill” (“Senate Democrats Block Vote On Mcconnell’s Targeted COVID Relief Bill,” Axios, 10/21/2020)

Politico: “Senate Democrats block Republicans’ narrow Covid relief plan” ("Senate Dems Block Republicans’ Narrow Covid Relief Plan," Politico, 10/21/2020)

CNBC: “Senate Democrats block GOP’s $500 billion coronavirus aid bill as Pelosi-Mnuchin talks continue” (“Senate Democrats Block GOP’s $500 Billion Coronavirus Aid Bill As Pelosi-Mnuchin Talks Continue,” CNBC, 10/21/2020)

The Washington Post: “Senate Democrats block slimmed-down relief bill as Capitol Hill rancor worsens” (“Senate Democrats Block Slimmed-Down Relief Bill As Capitol Hill Rancor Worsens,” The Washington Post, 10/21/2020)

Cox Media Group: “Senate gridlocks again as Democrats block GOP virus aid bill” (“Senate Gridlocks Again As Democrats Block GOP Virus Aid Bill,” Cox Media Group, 10/21/2020)

FOX Business: “Senate Democrats block McConnell’s $500B coronavirus relief bill as aid negotiations drag on” (“Senate Democrats Block Mcconnell’s $500B Coronavirus Relief Bill As Aid Negotiations Drag On,” 10/21/2020)

Business Insider: “Democrats block a $500 billion ‘skinny’ coronavirus aid bill identical to another that Republicans unveiled a month ago” (“Democrats Block A $500 Billion ‘Skinny’ Coronavirus Aid Bill Identical To Another That Republicans Unveiled A Month Ago,” Business Insider, 10/21/2020)

The Hill: “GOP coronavirus bill blocked as deal remains elusive” (“GOP Coronavirus Bill Blocked As Deal Remains Elusive,” The Hill, 10/21/2020)

Washington Examiner: “Senate Democrats block $500B coronavirus aid package a second time” (“Senate Democrats Block $500B Coronavirus Aid Package A Second Time,” Washington Examiner, 10/21/2020)

FLASHBACK: In September, Every Present Senate Democrat Voted To Block Moving Forward On A Targeted COVID Relief Bill

46 Democrats voted to block Senate action on the relief bill. (S.178, Roll Call Vote #168: Motion Rejected: R: 52-1; D: 0-44; I: 0-2, 9/10/2020)

The Hill: “Senate Democrats block GOP relief bill” (“Senate Democrats Block GOP Relief Bill,” The Hill, 9/10/2020)

• “Senate Democrats blocked a GOP coronavirus bill on Thursday amid a deep stalemate over the next relief package. Senators voted 52-47 on the roughly $500 billion Republican bill …” (“Senate Democrats Block GOP Relief Bill,” The Hill, 9/10/2020)

Senate Democrats Voted To Block: Extending Additional Federal Unemployment Insurance, More PPP Assistance For Small Businesses, Funding For Schools And Universities To Reopen, And More Money For Testing And Vaccine Development

Extended Additional Federal Unemployment Insurance: “Would offer federal unemployment benefits of $300 through the week ending December 27 … Payments would be retroactive to the end of July, when the original $600 weekly supplement expired.” (CNN, 9/08/2020)

Second Round Of Paycheck Protection Program Assistance For Small Businesses: “Would allow some small businesses to apply for a second loan from the Paycheck Protection Program. That would be limited to those with fewer than 300 employees that have seen a drop of at least 35% of their revenue during the first or second quarter of 2020. It would also reduce the amount a borrower can receive from $10 million to $2 million and gives businesses more flexibility on how they spend the money.” (CNN, 9/08/2020)

Funding For Schools And Universities To Reopen: “Would provide $105 billion in education funds … It would also provide money for school choice scholarships that parents can use to send their child to a public or private school outside their home district and fund grants to eligible child care providers so that they can pay for cleaning supplies, safety equipment and other expenses.” (CNN, 9/08/2020)

Liability Protections For Businesses, Schools, Hospitals, And Nonprofits: “Liability protections for businesses, hospitals, churches and schools against some COVID-related personal injury claims.” (“Senate GOP Introduces Slimmed-Down COVID-19 Relief Bill That Democrats Vow To Block,” USA Today, 9/08/2020)

More Funding For Vaccines And Testing: “$20 billion for the manufacturing, production, and purchase of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics; $6 billion to prepare for, distribute, administer, and track coronavirus vaccines; and $16 billion that would go almost entirely to states, localities, health service providers, and other groups for testing, contact tracing, and surveillance.” (Bloomberg, 8/18/2020)

Relief For Farmers And Fishermen: “For farmers, it includes $20 billion in relief and for fishers, $500 million in federal assistance.” (“Senate GOP Introduces Slimmed-Down COVID-19 Relief Bill That Democrats Vow To Block,” USA Today, 9/08/2020)

Postal Service Assistance: “Would forgive a $10 billion loan to the US Postal Service under the March CARES Act, the more than $2 trillion relief package passed earlier this year. The USPS would have to meet certain criteria to have the loan forgiven.” (CNN, 9/08/2020)

Speaker Pelosi Has Repeatedly Emphasized Her All-Or-Nothing Policy: ‘Don’t Be Misled By Thinking, Oh, Well, A Little Bit Is Better Than Nothing. No, It Isn’t’

SEPTEMBER 9^th: MSNBC’s ANDREA MITCHELL: “Well, is it better to go forward with some...”
HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “No, it isn’t. Now, let me -- thank you so much for that question, because I hear it a lot. And, clearly, it springs from all the good intentions we all have to help people as soon as we can. … So, don’t be misled by thinking, oh, well, a little bit is better than nothing. No, it isn’t.” (MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 9/09/2020)

SEPTEMBER 14^th: SPEAKER PELOSI: “Don’t be a cheap date.” (“Democrats, Republicans Point Fingers Over Lack of Coronavirus Aid Bill,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/14/2020)

SEPTEMBER 18^th: BLOOMBERG’s DAVID WESTIN: “You mentioned negotiating with the Administration.  The Administration has sent signals, they weren’t very subtle, saying they’re interested in something like $1.5 trillion compromise, which would have, as I understand it, $450 a week – not $600, but $450 a week for people for at least eight weeks, and would have $500 billion for the states.  Not the $900 [billion] you asked for, but not the $100 [billion] the Republicans have said.  Isn’t something better than nothing?”
SPEAKER PELOSI: “No.” (Bloomberg, 9/18/2020)

OCTOBER 1^st: SPEAKER PELOSI: “And so, when people say, as some of you do, ‘Isn’t something better than nothing?’ No.” (Bloomberg, 10/01/2020)

OCTOBER 1^st: SPEAKER PELOSI: “And some of you have asked, isn’t something better than nothing? No. There can be an opportunity cost that says we’re rewarding the wealthy because they’re wealthy, they’re successful, at the expense of the poor.” (Speaker Pelosi, Press Conference, 10/01/2020)

OCTOBER 2^nd: SPEAKER PELOSI: “But again, we’re not just taking the path of least resistance because everybody says, ‘Just take something, something is better than nothing.’ No…” (MSNBC, 10/02/2020)

Speaker Pelosi Also Reiterated That Democrat Leaders Wouldn’t Offer Policy Compromises To Get Relief To Americans: ‘We Didn’t Cut Things Out We Just Brought It Down’

SPEAKER PELOSI: “[W]here we could perhaps change the timing so it’s less money now. That’s how we were able to come down. We didn’t cut things out we just brought it down. … And we came down $1.2 trillion, and we think we can negotiate within that …” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 9/16/2020)

House Majority Whip Clyburn: Getting ‘Something’ For COVID Relief Is ‘Almost Like Having Second Class Citizenship’

HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): “And we are not just going to take anything simply because it’ll be something. No, that’s not what we’re going to do. We want to negotiate from a position of fairness and we want them to come up with a package that’s fair to everybody. That’s what these people are gambling on. They’re gambling on us caving just to get something. Well, that’s almost like having second class citizenship. You got citizenship all right, but it ain’t first class citizenship.” (CNN, 10/20/2020)