“Leader McConnell tried to steamroll us,” Schumer said in a press conference after the vote. He and other Democrats have accused McConnell of trying to unilaterally bypass them on the small business legislation while ignoring their demands.
The legislation totals $484 billion and delivers funding to small businesses, hospitals, and for testing. The quick Senate passage on Tuesday comes after Democrats and the Trump administration struggled to clinch the agreement over the weekend and failed to deliver it during Monday’s Senate session.
Passage of the massive bill was in doubt until just minutes before the Senate came in at 4 p.m. as last-minute haggling continued. Paul, who has recovered after contracting coronavirus, even hinted that he could block the bill, but would not do so due to the difficulty of getting senators back to Washington to hold a roll call vote. He then said instead of spending money to fight coronavirus the government should open back up the economy.
But President Donald Trump signaled he’d sign the legislation into law, tweeting Tuesday that he’s urging lawmaker to pass the bill „with additional funding for PPP, Hospitals, and Testing.“
Still, McConnell said afterward the Senate probably would not attempt to clear another such bill by unanimous consent.
„I will predict that we will not try to pass another rescue package by consent. My view is we ought to bring everybody back, have full participation,“ he said. Congress is not due back in Washington until May 4 at the earliest.
The legislation includes $321 billion for the depleted Paycheck Protection Program, of which $60 billion is set aside for underbanked businesses, a priority for Democrats. The deal also includes $60 billion in loans and grants for economic disaster assistance, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing. Of that testing money, $11 billion will go to states and some will also go to the federal government.
Two weeks ago, Senate Democrats blocked the Senate GOP’s initial offer of $250 billion for small businesses, demanding a broader package of aid that included millions of dollars for hospitals and states. That conflict had resulted in a standoff between Democrats and Republicans, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin moving to arbitrate the impasse.
The Paycheck Protection Program ran out of its initial $349 billion round of funding last week. Since then, Republicans have hammered Democrats for blocking efforts to replenish the small business fund.
„Democratic leaders blocked the money and spent days trying to negotiate extraneous issues that were never on the table. I am grateful our colleagues have walked away from those demands and will finally let Congress act,“ McConnell said.
Democrats counter that the bill expected to pass Congress this week contains much of what they demanded two weeks ago, pinning the delay on Republicans.
„When you look at the package that’s going to be passed, it’s almost exactly like the one we asked for two weeks ago,“ House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters on a press call Tuesday. „We’re ending up with a bill we could’ve passed 12 days ago.“
Yet Republicans fended off money for state and local governments that Democrats wanted and also got more for small businesses than previously requested. Democrats, meanwhile, were able to deliver on more money for hospitals and testing that they’d requested.
Source: politico.com
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