Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) said Thursday the House of Representatives blocked the Senate’s $250 billion small business relief proposal based on the fact that no data existed to support this idea.
“This morning, Leader [Mitch] McConnell honored that request – I say ‘honored,’ really, dishonored the needs that we have – with a stunt on the Floor of the Senate, requesting that $250 billion, no data as to why we need it and the rest, when there are outstanding needs we should’ve been doing,” she said.
“And what we offered to do was to sit down and figure out what the numbers are that are needed most urgently,” Pelosi added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the California representative want any $250 billion small business relief package to include an additional $250 billion for hospitals and state and local governments, The Washington Post reported.
“The Democratic leadership has suggested they may hold Americans’ paychecks hostage unless we pass another sweeping bill that spends a half a trillion dollars doubling down on a number of parts of the CARES Act, including parts that haven’t even started to work yet,” McConnell said, according to The Washington Examiner. “The country cannot afford more wrangling or political maneuvering. There is zero chance the sprawling proposal Democrats have gestured toward could pass either chamber by unanimous consent this week. No chance.”
Right now, the American economy is reeling from the Chinese virus. Last week, 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. Almost 17 million Americans have asked the government for assistance since March 21.
According to a CNBC study, 10 percent of Americans have lost their job, and 16 percent of American workers have taken a pay cut.
A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce study found that 43 percent of small business owners could survive for less than six months in current conditions. Furthermore, eleven percent of small business owners think they will shut down permanently.
Between April 3, when this study was published, and April 17, 40 percent of small businesses expect to close, according to the study.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected].
