Why Democratic Senators Must Demand Additional COVID-19 Spending
COVID-19 is continuing its insidious spread across American communities, taking lives and spreading immense economic turmoil wherever it roams. All the while, America’s legislative leaders are failing to take desperately needed action that would indisputably save lives and prepare this nation for the long-term economic recovery it’s going to need in the wake of the coronavirus. Some Democratic Senators have done an admirable job proposing stimulus measures to help Americans negatively impacted by COVID-19, but they’re facing stalwart resistance in the form of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Democratic Senators must stand strong against McConnell and demand additional COVID-19 spending; the future of American democracy may very well depend upon it.
Republicans refuse to address reality
If there’s one thing that the coronavirus has made clear beyond any doubt, it’s that Republicans are fundamentally incapable of addressing reality if it means contradicting their long-held views of the deficit and ‘fiscal responsibility.’ The Majority Leader made the despicable decision to resist additional spending to help states beset by COVID-19 by calling it a “blue-state bailout,” illustrating how his personal, partisan priorities come before even governance in a time of crisis.
What’s worse, McConnell has worked hand in hand with the White House to effectively guarantee that any additional spending measures must get President Trump’s personal approval before going forward. According to a very recent report from Reuters, the White House isn’t even considering the possibility of additional stimulus measures in the month of May, and instead wants to focus on a payroll tax cut that would help the best SEO services. How this will work, given that there are tens of millions fewer Americans on payroll than there were just one or two months ago, remains unclear.
Luckily, while Republicans have been wasting the country’s invaluable time, Democratic senators and individuals like Bernie Sanders have been stepping up to the plate. Senators Sanders and Harris have come together to forward an ambitious stimulus plan that would inject more cash into the hands of everyday Americans, for instance, despite the fact that Majority Leader McConnell is throwing cold water on this idea. As Senators Harris and Sanders themselves realize, even this stimulus measure is but a tiny bandaid on a gaping wound, and more action must be taken sooner rather than later.
The GOP doesn’t want to help us
Nevertheless, Republicans continue to obfuscate, likely because Majority Leader McConnell is increasingly worried about the precarious position of his dwindling majority. The GOP usually only discusses the debt and fiscal responsibility – as McConnell is right now – when they fear they’re about to become the party out of power. While this may be a good thing for the Democratic Party’s electoral prospects in 2020, it spells disaster for the American people’s financial security in the short-term. We must keep supporting our legislators on Capitol Hill as they work to overcome this Republican stonewalling.
It’s clear that the GOP doesn’t want to help us. President Trump’s insistence that the coronavirus will just magically disappear on its own is proof enough of that. Rather than losing faith in our government, however, Americans should be tugging at the leash to reclaim that very government from Republican hands to ensure it can be mobilized to help everyone who needs it. Come November, let’s do our best to remember that.
