WASHINGTON – Amid the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, continued to call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to include immediate, direct relief to working families and the health care sector in the third coronavirus economic stimulus package. Saturday morning, Senator McConnell unveiled Senate Republicans’ plan for a third coronavirus economic stimulus package, which puts corporations first and does not do nearly enough to address the current public health crisis. Last night, and again this afternoon, Senator McConnell’s partisan coronavirus economic stimulus package failed to garner enough votes to move forward in the Senate.
“I’d like to suggest to my friends on both sides of the aisle that we, first, assume the appropriate distance and then, secondly, take a deep breath,” Durbin said. “The emotions that we’ve seen on the floor on both sides of the aisle are reflected in homes across America, where families are very emotional at this moment as we face this public health crisis. It’s no surprise that that is reflected on the floor of the Senate, but we are going to solve this problem and we are going to do it in a timely way, which the American people expect us. We’ve had two measures that came before us, which were addressed on a bipartisan basis with an agreement. This will be as well.”
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Durbin continued, “Senator Schumer came to the floor and didn’t say, arms crossed, ‘we’re stonewalling.’ He said he had to leave the floor to go back to negotiate. With whom? With Republican leaders from the White House… that is the way it should be. We’re going to get this done today.”
