Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., left, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
By Andrew Taylor and Lisa Mascaro
Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday, saying the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs as the pandemic continues its assault on the country.
The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures has given way to election-season political combat and name-calling. The 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster and seems likely to end hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election.
The $500 billion measure is roughly half the size of legislation promoted by GOP leaders this summer but was too big for most conservatives. Instead, the GOP bill was stripped back to focus on school aid, jobless benefits, and help for small businesses. That maximized Republican support even as it alienated Democrats, who say such a piecemeal approach would leave out far too many vulnerable people.
The result was a predictable impasse and partisan tit for tat as the congressional session limps to its preelection close. It's becoming plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session, with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted that Thursday's GOP defeat would prompt Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., back to the negotiating table, as an earlier filibuster in March helped make the $2 trillion rescue bill more generous.
“But (Thursday's) bill is not going to happen because it is so emaciated, so filled with poison pills, so partisanly designed,” Schumer said.
McConnell crafted the measure to permit his GOP colleagues to go on record in favor of popular provisions such as another round of “paycheck protection” help for smaller businesses, help for schools to reopen, and supplemental jobless benefits. He again blasted Democrats on Thursday, saying they are still pushing a liberal wish list and are willing to scuttle provisions with widespread backing to deny Trump a victory.
“Today every senator will either say they want to send families the relief we can agree to or they can send families nothing," McConnell said.
There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Top lawmakers and aides offered glum assessments both publicly and privately.
The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election, which will decide not only the presidency but also the control of Congress.
While nationwide coronavirus cases appear to be at a plateau, there is still widespread economic hardship and social unease in homes, schools, and businesses affected by closures. Experts warn that infections are expected to spike again if Americans fail to abide by public health guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing, especially amid colder weather and flu season.
McConnell said Democrats have not backed off what he said were unreasonable demands. He accused Democrats of acting as though it is to their political advantage to deny Republicans and Trump a victory on the virus so close to Election Day.
Schumer said Republicans are “so out of touch." He predicted Republicans and the White House “may yet be forced to come back to the table because COVID is the major issue that’s facing the American people.”
The stalemate has left McConnell and Republicans to say that they support a short-term spending measure, called a continuing resolution, or CR, that would avert a government shutdown at month’s end and set up a postelection lame-duck session to deal with any unfinished Capitol Hill legislation, which could include coronavirus relief.
The Republican measure in Thursday's test vote would:
It did not contain a new round of $1,200 direct payments going out under Trump’s name, and the new $300 weekly jobless benefit would expire just after Christmas, on Dec. 27. The GOP bill also lacked money for election security that lawmakers from both parties have supported.
Democrats say the GOP bill is far too small and leaves out important priorities, including hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, more generous jobless benefits, and help for renters and homeowners, along with other provisions in the House Democrats’ $3.5 trillion relief bill that passed in May.
Senators voted Wednesday to override the FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules, keeping the internet free and open...for now. The resolution now heads to the House, where it is still 57 votes short of passing.
The Democrat from Rhode Island said doing away with the internet regulations would give large service providers too much power over the content that people see. The Senate on Wednesday voted to reinstate the Obama-era legislation, sending the bill to House, where it's expected to be shot down.
A planned summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump is in jeopardy. In a statement this morning, North Korea's foreign minister said the country has no interest in a "one-sided discussion" on its nuclear program. On Tuesday, North Korea also canceled planned talks with South Korea.
Starting today, Amazon Prime members will receive exclusive discounts at Whole Foods. Customers will now get 10% off hundreds of sale items in stores and will also get access to rotating weekly specials. The perks are only available in Florida as of today but will be rolled out nationwide starting this summer.
Chris Carter and James Peisker, co-founders of Porter Road, join us to talk about their expansion into the digital landscape. Porter Road is a whole animal butcher shop based in Nashville, but the founders recently decided to take their business online.
Mayor Karen Weaver is exploring legal action against the state of Michigan for its decision to stop providing the city with free bottled water three years after unhealthy amounts of lead were discovered in Flint's water supplies. "When you had the biggest hand in poisoning a city and making this crisis happen, you ought to have some moral, some ethical responsibility to seeing us through this crisis," said Weaver.
The Seattle City Council passed a new law that will require companies making more than $20 million a year to pay a 'head tax.' Amazon and other Seattle-based companies will pay a tax of 14 cents per employee per hour worked, which comes out to roughly $275 per employee each year. The tax will raise money for affordable housing since home prices have risen recently in Seattle. In response, Amazon's vice president said this move "forces us to question our growth here." A Starbucks exec criticized the city for spending "without reforming and fail[ing] without accountability."
A number of top Tesla executives have left the company in the past few months. Aaron Cole, managing editor at Motor Authority, joins us to discuss whether investors should be worried that this 'drain brain' will have negative consequences for the electric carmaker. The company is ramping up production to meet its ambitious Model 3 targets.
Cheddar's Brad Smith speaks with Joe Gibbs, Pro Football Hall of Famer and owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, at a special event outside the New York Stock Exchange celebrating Stanley Black & Decker's 175th anniversary. Gibbs talks about how NASCAR is focusing on expanding its digital outreach to reach a younger audience. He also weighs in on the Supreme Court's decision to reverse a ban on sports gambling.
The Supreme Court decision to effectively lift the ban on sports betting in most of the U.S. will create a vast, competitive market for online bookmakers, says Jason Robins, the CEO and co-founder of the fantasy sports site DraftKings. He has positioned his company to quickly take advantage of the opportunity to get into the legal sports gambling business.
The tax overhaul and President Trump's tough stance on the world stage has left the Republican party in a strong position to hold on to its majority through the midterm elections in November, says the former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence.
The Daily Show host says the dinner is "weird" because it creates an environment where "the press, and the people the press are reporting on, are all chummy-chummy." But he'll step up and take the mic...if President Trump personally asked him to host the annual dinner.
Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, is running for U.S. Senate in Minnesota as a Democrat because he says the Republican party has been hijacked by President Trump and his supporters. "No one is allowed to run for elected office at the federal level who does not really swear allegiance to Donald Trump," Painter says.
The coffee chain announced anyone who walks into a store can use the bathrooms, even if they didn't make a purchase. This is "the absolute right thing" to do, says communication and reputation strategist Deirdre Latour. Starbucks came under fire last month after arresting two black men accused of "loitering" at one of its stores.
