- Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina had some strong words for his congressional colleagues as they attempted to brute-force their way into a massive $2 trillion stimulus.
- "And what's holding this bill up is special interest politics," Graham said. "And if in the next 48 hours we do not pass this bill, everybody in this country should cut off our pay."
- Democrats have demanded the inclusion of better worker protections in the bill and stricter enforcement of corporate bailouts.
- Meanwhile, Republicans have balked at some of Democrats' demands in the proposal, including green energy tax credits and regulations.
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Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina had some strong words for his congressional colleagues as they attempted to brute-force their way to pass a massive $2 trillion stimulus package to assist Americans dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
"Enough already, pass the damn bill," Graham said on Fox News on Tuesday evening.
The potential passage of the bill was met with some optimism by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier on Tuesday, with the New York senator claiming the parties were "on the 2-yard line," according to Politico.
Republicans failed to secure 60 votes in Congress to advanced the bill on Sunday, forcing them to restart negotiations for the next two days.
Democrats have demanded the inclusion of better worker protections in the bill and stricter enforcement of corporate bailouts. Meanwhile, Republicans have balked at some of Democrats' demands in the proposal, including green energy tax credits and regulations.
The bill would dispense cash payments to many Americans dealing with wide-scale quarantine orders throughout the country. Business and public areas have been shuttered to curb the spread of the coronavirus, prompting many establishments to lay off employees. Two bills totaling roughly $108 billion were passed by Congress to assist in the coronavirus response, but the bill currently being debated is widely believed to have an immediate effect to the economy by providing cash directly to Americans.
"If it doesn't pass tonight — there is no good reason ... left to deny the American people the relief they need," Graham said. "Every restaurant and bar in South Carolina is closed. As long as you can't congregate with 10 people or more, the entire economy is shut down. So people need a paycheck, they need to burdens taken off them."
"And what's holding this bill up is special interest politics," Graham said. "And if in the next 48 hours we do not pass this bill, everybody in this country should cut off our pay."
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