Democrats in the Senate Respond –

By Glynn Wilson –

Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell single-handedly adjourned the United States Senate on Thursday until September 8, the day after Labor Day, without reaching a deal for a new round of coronavirus relief.

In response, along with other Democrats in the Senate, U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama released a statement calling the move “an unconscionable failure of leadership” in Washington.

“Mitch McConnell’s decision to adjourn the Senate without any further efforts to fulfill the Senate’s obligation to the American public during a healthcare and economic crisis demonstrates an unconscionable failure of leadership,” the Birmingham Democrat said.

Congress acted swiftly in March as the pandemic took hold and every American who put their lives on hold and stayed home for weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 “out of a patriotic duty and a belief that it would give our government leaders time to implement a plan to get this virus under control,” he said.

“Now, it’s been five months and not only do we still have no national strategy, our nation is facing some of the highest rates of coronavirus spread in the world, over 167,000 Americans dead, unprecedented housing and eviction crises on the horizon, and we are slowly coming out of the worst economy since the Great Depression and the highest level of unemployment ever recorded,” he continued.

“The House of Representatives passed a relief bill on May 15 – three months ago – because it was clear even then that this virus would be with us longer than we had hoped and that more support to American businesses and American citizens would be needed to save lives and save livelihoods,” he added. “Sadly, however, instead of using this legislation as a framework for a bipartisan relief package, Mitch McConnell buried it in his office and sat on his hands, letting vital programs expire without even participating in efforts to reach agreement.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that Democrats would pare down their $3 trillion relief bill to $2 trillion if Republicans were willing to compromise and boost their $1 trillion bill up to $2 trillion. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if lawmakers reach an agreement while the Senate is adjourned, they will come back to Washington to vote on a relief package.

But in scathing language, Senator Jones called McConnell’s move an insult to the American people.

“His decision to send the Senate home for the next three weeks is an insult to every sacrifice made, every job lost, every small business that has had to close its doors, every person who had to say their final goodbye to a loved one over Facetime, and every graduation or wedding or birth celebrated over Zoom instead of in person,” he said. “The American people have done their duty, and today Mitch McConnell has thrown in the towel and given up on doing his.”

The expanded unemployment benefits Congress passed in March when lockdown measures were first implemented expired at the end of July, leaving millions of Americans who were thrown out of work without the extra $600 a week the CARES Act provided. Democrats have pushed for extending the increased benefits, while Republicans have argued that they should be lowered, noting that some workers are receiving more in jobless benefits than they were making at work.

Another sticking point is funding for the Unites States Postal Service (USPS), which President Trump said Thursday he is blocking because Democrats want it to bolster universal mail-in voting, which Trump has said, with no evidence whatsoever, would be a “breeding ground for election fraud.”

Democratic lawmakers want $25 billion in funding for the Post Office as well as $3.5 billion for mail-in ballots, but Trump would have none of that.

Related Coverage: President Trump Makes No Secret of Conspiracy to Gut Mail Voting: Senators Urge USPS to Fix Delays and Avoid Cost Increases Ahead of November Election

Other economic relief measures have also expired, including a federal eviction moratorium.

Over the weekend, Trump took several executive actions intended to provide economic relief for Americans in the absence of a legislative solution from Congress, a move that sparked criticism from at least one Republican, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska.

Sasse was the first Republican to criticize the president’s executive orders on coronavirus relief, calling them “unconstitutional slop.”

The orders, which came after negotiations between lawmakers stalled, included extending the expanded unemployment benefits Congress approved in March, deferring payroll taxes, as well as providing rent and student loan payment assistance.

Democrats, including Jones, have called the proposal to delay the payment of payroll taxes an attempt by the president and Republicans to defund Medicare and privatize Social Security.

Related Coverage: U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama Blasts President Trump for Trying to Defund Medicare and Privatize Social Security