Published on
Wednesday, December 02, 2020
byCommon Dreams
Critics Smell 'Economic Sabotage' as McConnell Unveils Covid Plan With $0
for Unemployment Boost, Direct Payments
"McConnell is making it pretty clear that if Dems don't win the Georgia
Senate races, he will cripple the American economy, hoping it will let the
GOP win the midterm."
byJake Johnson, staff writer
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news
conference at the U.S. Capitol on December 1, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news
conference at the U.S. Capitol on December 1, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday began circulating a
coronavirus relief proposal whose contents offer so little assistance to the
tens of millions of jobless, hungry, and eviction-prone Americans that
critics warned the Kentucky Republican is actively working to ensure the
U.S. economy remains mired in deep recession as Biden administration takes
charge next month.
Described as a "targeted" relief proposal, McConnell's plan is heavily
geared toward providing corporations with immunity from coronavirus-related
lawsuits; the offer includes a liability shield that Public Citizen's
Remington Gregg described as "breathtakingly broad." The Kentucky
Republican's plan also contains a 100% tax deduction for business meals.
"As the Covid crisis only grows more deadly, this disgraceful proposal puts
the lives of everyday Americans at even greater risk."
-Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Action
Meanwhile, McConnell's proposed relief measure does not include a boost to
federal unemployment insurance, instead calling for a mere one-month
extension of existing programs and stricter requirements for applicants in
the name of preventing "fraud." The Republican's proposal also omits another
round of direct stimulus payments and aid to cash-strapped state and local
governments.
"Leave it to Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump to propose a bill that creates
tax write-offs for fancy lunches and gives the middle finger to working
families and 20 million unemployed Americans," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.).
"This is not a serious proposal, it is a slap in the face to people who need
help."
In the months ahead of the November election and in the weeks since,
analysts have cautioned that if McConnell maintains his stranglehold on the
Senate, the Kentucky Republican could attempt to impose devastating economic
austerity with the goal of undermining Biden's presidency and gaining GOP
seats in 2022 and beyond. McConnell's new relief proposal only bolstered
those concerns.
"McConnell is making it pretty clear that if Dems don't win the Georgia
Senate races, he will cripple the American economy, hoping it will let the
GOP win the midterm," tweeted journalist Jon Walker.
HuffPost's Zach Carter offered a similar assessment:
Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Action said in a
statement that McConnell's latest coronavirus relief offer is "nothing but a
cruel joke."
"Once again, Mitch McConnell shows that he is more interested in protecting
corporations that have put workers' lives at risk than he is in protecting
Americans who have lost their water service," said Hauter. "As the Covid
crisis only grows more deadly, this disgraceful proposal puts the lives of
everyday Americans at even greater risk."
"Whether or not you can pay rent or feed your family should not depend on
whether or not Mitch McConnell sees it in his political interest."
-Sen. Ron Wyden
Locked in a standstill for months amid rapidly deteriorating economic
conditions and a surging pandemic, coronavirus relief negotiations received
something of a push Tuesday when a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers
outlined a $908 billion stimulus plan that includes a $300-per-week federal
boost to unemployment benefits and a more limited corporate liability shield
than the one McConnell is pushing.
Ahead of the introduction of the bipartisan proposal, House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on
Monday sent a relief offer of their own to McConnell but declined to provide
specifics.
"I'm not going to get in the details," Schumer said Tuesday. "It was a
private proposal to help us move the ball forward."
With an estimated 12 million Americans set to lose unemployment benefits on
the day after Christmas without action from Congress, a group of five
senators-including Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and
Schumer-introduced legislation that would retroactively extend the lapsed
$600-per-week federal boost to unemployment insurance through October 2021.
"With the economy backsliding as Covid-19 cases explode nationwide, Senate
Republicans are set to push millions of American families off a cliff,"
Wyden warned in a statement. "Whether or not you can pay rent or feed your
family should not depend on whether or not Mitch McConnell sees it in his
political interest."
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