WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — If you were betting political gridlock centered around the November election would come to an end after Americans went to the voting booth, you lost that bet.
Nearly a month after voters decided the next president, Congress is no closer to finding common ground on coronavirus relief or getting new direct payments to Americans.
Before the Thanksgiving holiday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who is the lead stimulus negotiator for Democrats, said the holiday season is marked “with great pain, great pain that in our country in the course of this year, 250,000 Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus.”
Pelosi noted that Congress has yet to pass any further coronavirus relief aid and placed blame for the inaction on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Over six months ago when we passed the Heroes Act, Leader McConnell said we need a pause. We need a pause. Well, I would hope that for him, the pause can come to an end. Nearly 200,000 people have died during that pause, so we’re asking him to come back to the table,” Pelosi said.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans generally say a new stimulus bill is needed, but they disagree on the scope of it. Some Republicans are opposed to another round of checks directly to most taxpayers, and some don’t want Washington to “bail out” state and local governments that had financial struggles before the pandemic.
As November ends, Pelosi continues to eye a bill in excess of $2 trillion while McConnell is looking for a much smaller package in the neighborhood of $500 billion.
We stand BROKE & just in time for the Holidays !!!