Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is reportedly drafting a multi-trillion dollar coronavirus aid package that includes a $750 billion bailout for states and municipalities affected by the novel coronavirus — and Republicans are not being asked to consult.
The aid package, which would be the fourth coronavirus aid package issued in just under three months — only weeks after the $2.2 trillion CARES Act — is focused on providing what Democrats believe are “much needed” funds to states and cities laboring under massive debt, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Republicans caution that federal legislators might be trying to bail out their suffering state colleagues, many of whom are trying to erase debt that long predates the coronavirus pandemic.
Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), say they will not consider yet another massive spending bill until they can be sure the now-shaky American economy won’t suffer more damage as a result.
But Pelosi does not appear to be taking Republican advice into consideration, and Republican lawmakers say they have yet to be consulted, let alone invited to collaborate, on Pelosi’s gargantuan bill.
“Bipartisan meetings, which have driven previous aid bills toward passage, are on pause,” the WSJ says. “Larry Kudlow, a top economic adviser to Mr. Trump, said Friday that formal negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package wouldn’t resume until late May or early June.” – READ MORE
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