US Senate fails to pass $2T coronavirus bill

WASHINGTON — A $2 trillion coronavirus rescue bill was blocked by Democrats for a second day Monday as debate devolved into a partisan scrum in the Senate with heated exchanges and angry rhetoric.

Republicans accused Democrats of trying to lard the bill with ideological measures unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic, which is sweeping the country and has sent the economy plunging with layoffs and business closures.

“This is no time to be running a political campaign,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. “There is no excuse for delaying this bill.”

Democrats charged Republicans with crafting a corporate-friendly bill that fails to provide needed controls to ensure that billions in bailout funds for industries still protect workers. They also complained that the bill doesn’t do enough for states, cities and hospitals on the front line of the battle.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said “there was no funding for our local governments and our state.”

The mayors of Las Vegas, Henderson and Reno — Carolyn Goodman, Debra March and Hillary Schieve, respectively — joined 300 other mayors last week in seeking $250 billion in federal assistance to stave off layoffs of municipal workers and continue providing services.

States are seeking funds in the relief package for hospitals, which are expected to become overwhelmed as more people are exposed to the virus. Governors from both major political parties continued to voice frustration about the lack of a coherent federal response.

Negotiations to put $110 billion in the bill for hospitals were being hammered out by the White House and Senate negotiators.

Partisan bickering

As those negotiations continued, the Senate voted 49-46, failing to reach the threshold of 60 votes needed to cut off debate and proceed on the bill, which now totals more than $1.8 trillion.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., of scuttling the vote after she returned to Washington on Sunday with a wish list of ideological measures.

McConnell said Democrats voted against advancing the bill over “Green New Deal” issues like tax credits for clean energy and aviation emissions controls, a charge that was angrily denied by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other lawmakers.

Schumer accused Republicans of favoring corporations over workers and medical care.

Cortez Masto charged that McConnell had set false deadlines with the votes, noting that negotiations were ongoing with Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin when roll call votes were called.

Schumer said Democrats were seeking more accountability of the $500 billion that bails out industry without mandating protections for workers from layoffs and job cuts, preventing companies from enriching executives and using the funds for stock buybacks.

Those abuses occurred in the 2008 bank bailout.

“We don’t want that to happen again,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

President Donald Trump also has said he wants protections in the bill to keep companies from profiting from federal aid. Schumer said he was in discussions with Mnuchin to ensure that.

Fraught debate

Despite the rationale levied by lawmakers on both sides, tension filled the Senate floor as charges and countercharges were hurled, stock markets continued to drop and unemployment claims were expected to skyrocket.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., never at a loss for words, summed up the back-and-forth as a futile exercise that would leave Americans scratching their heads at the behavior in the Senate.

“This country was founded by geniuses, but it’s being run by a bunch of idiots,” Kennedy said.

In the House, Pelosi unveiled a version of a third rescue bill that focuses heavily on aid for medical costs to address the novel coronavirus, expansion of unemployment benefits and help for families hard-hit by the economic downturn.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said the House approach would extend unemployment benefits, which is critical for Las Vegas. He cited a Brookings Institution study showing that Las Vegas would be the fourth-worst-hit metropolitan area as a result of the pandemic, with thousands of hospitality and casino workers displaced.

Horsford asked Pelosi to seek a minimum of $2,000 in direct cash for families affected by the economic plunge.

“American families across the country and in Nevada are suffering as their businesses close their doors, their hours are slashed and their jobs are victims of the economic downturn spurred on by the coronavirus spread,” Horsford said in a letter to Pelosi.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.