The House voted 363-40 to pass a coronavirus relief bill on Friday night. 40 Republicans voted against the bill.
The Daily Beast reports: ” The bill provides expanded paid sick leave and unemployment insurance for those dealing with the virus, offers free testing for all, and increases Medicaid funding for local health care systems. While Republicans initially had misgivings with proposals in the bill, GOP leaders claimed credit for forcing changes, and ultimately an overwhelming number in both parties voted in favor of the package.”
The NYT reports: “Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said in a statement after the vote that ‘senators will need to carefully review' the bill passed by the House. ‘But I believe the vast majority of senators in both parties will agree we should act swiftly to secure relief for American workers, families and small businesses' he said.
As of Saturday morning, there have been 2,179 cases of coronavirus confirmed by lab tests in the United States and 48 deaths. The cases are climbing exponentially.
Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell took the weekend off. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted McConnell: “It was remarkably irresponsible and out of touch for Sen. McConnell to send senators out of town in the middle of a public health crisis before the House passed this vital people-focused legislation.”
As did Kamala Harris: “It's pretty basic: when our country faces a serious crisis, the federal government has a duty to act. Yet despite the growing outbreak of the coronavirus, which is threatening the lives of our people and testing the strength of our economy, Mitch McConnell gave the Senate a three-day weekend.”
#WheresMitch was trending on Twitter Saturday morning as the crisis continued.
