Tag: GOP congress

GOP shifting on unemployment benefits as jobless numbers swell

The Hill logoFaced with staggering unemployment numbers that are likely to remain elevated through the election, Senate Republicans are reversing their positions on ending a federal increase of state unemployment benefits after July.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed in a conference call with House Republicans last month that Senate Republicans would block the $600 weekly boost to state unemployment benefits from the federal government.

Also last month, GOP senators involved in planning for a phase four coronavirus relief bill said there was overwhelming support for entirely ending the federal enhancement of state unemployment benefits. Continue reading.

Trump must be removed. So must his congressional enablers.

Washington Post logoThis unraveling presidency began with the Crybaby-in-Chief banging his spoon on his highchair tray to protest a photograph — a photograph — showing that his inauguration crowd the day before had been smaller than the one four years previous. Since then, this weak person’s idea of a strong person, this chest-pounding advertisement of his own gnawing insecurities, this low-rent Lear raging on his Twitter-heath has proven that the phrase malignant buffoon is not an oxymoron.

Presidents, exploiting modern communications technologies and abetted today by journalists preening as the “resistance” — like members of the French Resistance 1940-1944, minus the bravery — can set the tone of American society, which is regrettably soft wax on which presidents leave their marks. The president’s provocations — his coarsening of public discourse that lowers the threshold for acting out by people as mentally crippled as he — do not excuse the violent few. They must be punished. He must be removed.

Social causation is difficult to demonstrate, particularly between one person’s words and other persons’ deeds. However: The person voters hired in 2016 to “take carethat the laws be faithfully executed” stood on July 28, 2017, in front of uniformed police and urged them “please don’t be too nice” when handling suspected offenders. His hope was fulfilled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on Minneapolis pavement. Continue reading.

The column above is by conservative journalist George Will.

Congressional Republicans Condemn Small-Town America To Fiscal Ruin

Kevin Smith, the mayor of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, feels abandoned by the federal government. On Easter Sunday, a storm hit his city of 10,000, one of the poorest in the state. It knocked out power for most residents; those who’d used SNAP benefits to stock their refrigerators saw their groceries spoil. Streets flooded. Sewers overflowed. In the thick of a pandemic, debris blocked roads to the hospital.

His city faces a loss of up to 30 percent in revenue because of the coronavirus, but doesn’t qualify for direct federal stimulus funding, which is reserved for those with populations of 500,000 or more. So at a time when his city needs infrastructure the most, he is weighing cuts and layoffs.

Smaller cities and towns, already reeling from the pandemic and the resulting financial crisis, face natural disasters like spring floods and the approaching hurricane season, additional blows exacerbated by climate change. Meanwhile, they’ve been left behind as federal coronavirus relief efforts favor larger cities. The House of Representatives passed another stimulus bill this month that allocates $188 billion for local governments, including smaller towns. It has little chance of passing the Senate. A separate bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate would provide emergency assistance for local budgets. Continue reading.

GOP faces internal conflicts on fifth coronavirus bill

The Hill logoRepublicans are increasingly saying they expect to pass a fifth coronavirus bill — just don’t ask them to agree, yet, on what should be in it.

While a growing number of GOP senators say they should move quickly, deep divisions remain within the caucus on everything from key policy provisions and timing to if another bill should be passed at all.

“I don’t think there’s a consensus yet on a path forward,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. Continue reading.

Paul Krugman explains how the GOP’s disdain for workers will tank the economy

AlterNet logoThere was no shortage of terrible news coming from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, May 8, when the BLS reported that unemployment had reached 14.7% in the United States in April and that the country had lost 20.5 million more jobs last month — that is, in addition to all the jobs lost in March thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. And Friday’s jobs report doesn’t take into account the jobs that have been lost in May so far. Despite all that, Republicans are hardly going out of their way to help all the Americans who are struggling badly — and liberal economist Paul Krugman calls them out for it in his New York Times column.

“COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on workers,” Krugman explains. “The economy has plunged so quickly that official statistics can’t keep up, but the available data suggest that tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, with more job losses to come and full recovery probably years away. But Republicans adamantly oppose extending enhanced unemployment benefits.”

Krugman adds that because “most working-age Americans receive health insurance through their employers,” millions of Americans are — during a deadly pandemic —  losing their health insurance when they lose their jobs. Continue reading.

Republicans not sold on new round of relief checks

The Hill logoSenate Republicans are pouring cold water on including another round of stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief bill.

The record $2.2 trillion pandemic bill signed into law March 27 mandated one-time payments of $1,200 for people making up to $75,000 a year, but most of the checks have already been distributed.

The White House and Democrats are signaling support for doing at least one more round of checks. GOP senators, however, say they aren’t sold yet on the need for a second round, and several said they are strongly opposed to the idea. Continue reading.

Republicans prove they’ll never miss an opportunity to help the top 1% — not even during a pandemic

AlterNet logoWhich of the following statements do you think are true?

1) Republicans used the massive coronavirus relief package passed in late March (the CARES Act) to slip, at the last minute, more than $100 billion over a decade to households earning more than $1 million per year.

2) Republicans used the CARES Act to attack the few measures from the 2017 Trump Rich Man’s Tax Cut that were designed to bring in at least some revenue from multimillionaires. Continue reading.

GOP divided over state aid during coronavirus pandemic

The Hill logoRepublicans are divided over how to handle aid for state and local governments hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

The issue quickly became a flashpoint between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Democrats, but there are also signs of fractures emerging among GOP lawmakers — posing a challenge for Republicans as they work to solidify their negotiating stance for the next relief bill.

Congress allocated $150 billion for state and municipal governments as part of the $2.2 trillion rescue package signed into law March 27. But Republicans are split on whether to loosen restrictions on how that money and any future funds can be spent, or if they should even support additional funding given GOP concerns about “state bailouts.” Continue reading.

Pressure for quick action on next relief bill strains GOP unity

The Hill logoThe pressure on Congress to act swiftly on another round of coronavirus relief is creating tension among Republicans.

While some GOP lawmakers are seeking to hold back, at least for now, on charging forward with another massive economic package, others such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are calling for a rapid infusion of federal aid costing trillions of dollars.

At the state level, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, the chairman of the National Governors Association, is spearheading a push for an additional $500 billion to states. Continue reading.

Republicans were warned. Yet they persisted in defending Trump.

Washington Post logoThat notorious cut-up Mitch McConnell got an early jump on April Fools’ Day this year, blaming Democrats for the Trump administration’s failure to prepare for the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“It came up while we were, you know, tied down in the impeachment trial,” the Senate majority leader said Tuesday. “And I think it diverted the attention of the government.”

In addition to implicitly acknowledging that President Trump wasn’t paying attention to the growing danger, it was a curious entry into the blame game for the Kentucky Republican, who recently said this isn’t “a time for partisan bickering.” Continue reading.