Republicans want the major aim to be helping business…
Democrats want more money going to individuals….
Democrats….Not trusting Trump…Will not agree to anything that allow Trump to switch money around to pay for programs, projects or handouts that could help him politically going into the November election….
Democrats have argued that the bill is disproportionately tilted towards helping companies and needs to extend more benefits to families and health care providers, while Republicans have countered that the bill offers unprecedented financial assistance to the entire economy and needs to be passed before more people lose their jobs.
The vote Monday was 49-46, well short of the 60 vote threshold needed to advance the legislation for a final debate.
“This has got to stop and today is the day it has to stop,” an exasperated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said. “The country is out of time.”
McConnell accused Democrats of holding up the sorely needed rescue package so they can try to add extraneous provisions sought by special interests and organized labor. Democrats have refused to support the key procedural vote that would have made it easier to pass the bill, with many complaining that the legislation did not include much transparency into which businesses could receive hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency loans….
…
Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) insisted he is continuing to negotiate in good faith with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and hopes to secure a deal as long as he can ensure worker protections are included, and that the fund for industries has appropriate controls.
“We have an obligation to get the details right, get them done quickly,” Schumer said. “That doesn’t mean blindly accepting a Republican-only bill.”
As markets fell on Monday, the Senate floor then descended into an uproar as Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) sought recognition to speak, which Schumer objected to, prompting Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to exclaim, “This is bullshit!” and Collins to say, “This is unbelievable.”
Schumer then argued with Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who was presiding over the Senate, to get recognized and get McConnell to explain the schedule ahead. Once that happened, the Senate agreed to proceed to a repeat of Sunday’s procedural vote, only to have it fail again….
image…Axios.Com
Robert Reich liked
Gabriel Zucman
@gabriel_zucman
Denmark: government will pay wages if firms don’t fire workers
Netherlands: government will pay wages if firms don’t fire workers
UK: government will pay wages if firms don’t fire workers
US: The Fed will distribute some money
Bernie Sanders (ind-Vt) returned to the Senate floor, but Doug Jones (D-Alab) voted with the GOP caucus in favour of cloture. Net nay vote 46 (out of a Dem caucus of 47).
No Republicans voted against cloture (Mitch McConnell did not vote for as he did yesterday for parliamentary purposes) and 48 (out of 53) voted for cloture.Add Doug Jones for 49 yea.
The same five Republicans who did not vote yesterday stayed away today: Rand Paul (Ky) coming down with the virus and the two Senators from Utah (Romney & Lee) self-quarantining since they’d been in close physical contact with Paul, in addition to Rick Scott of Florida and Cory Gardner of Colorado.
Thank You DSD….