Press: COVID-19 relief? Republicans don’t care

It’s become a cliché to say that the Republican Party is broken. But if we needed any proof that it’s broken, perhaps beyond repair, we saw it last week with Senate passage of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, the “American Rescue Plan,” by a 50-49, purely partisan vote.

Twelve months after the coronavirus first hit American shores, the United States is still in the midst of the worst public health crisis this country has ever faced — with over 530,000 Americans dead so far and an average 60,000 new cases every day. Coronavirus has also triggered a severe economic crisis — with tens of millions of Americans out of work, and thousands of restaurants and small businesses shutting their doors permanently.

Unlike previous recessions, this one hasn’t hurt Wall Street financiers or wealthy Americans — except for not being able to hang out at their gourmet restaurant or country club. Its impact has been principally on low-income and middle-class Americans, especially people of color, who have either lost their jobs entirely and now depend on unemployment insurance, or had their hours cut dramatically and forced to work remotely from home — while dealing with kids, home from school, in the same boat.

Relief is badly needed. And for those middle-class American families who are suffering the most from COVID-19, the Senate came to the rescue this week. Well, at least half of them did. As part of the American rescue plan.

The Senate agreed to send a check for $1,400 to every American earning less than $80,000, single parents earning up to $112,500, and married couples with incomes up to $150,000. In addition, for the next year, it provides most families a monthly check of $300 per child. It’s badly-needed relief. Yet every single Republican senator voted against it.

Unemployment benefits from the last stimulus bill expire on March 14. So, as part of Biden’s plan, the Senate agreed to extend unemployment benefits at $300 per week through Sept. 6. Yet every single Republican senator voted against it.

As of December 2020, more than 100,000 restaurants had permanently shut down because of COVID-19 restrictions. For those restaurants and bars still struggling to survive, the Senate agreed to provide $28.6 billion to get them back in business. Yet every single Republican senator voted against it.

Recognizing that states and cities bear most of the burden of providing services during the pandemic, the Senate bill also includes: $350 billion for state, local, and tribal governments; $130 billion to help school districts reopen primary and secondary schools; $12 billion for nutrition assistance to needy families; and $14 billion for setting up new vaccine distribution sites. All essential services to put the pandemic behind us. Yet every single Republican senator voted against it.

According to Columbia University’s Center on Policy and Social Policy, the Biden plan could cut the child poverty rate in half. Many economists predict increased consumer spending, as a result of the bill, will boost the economy to its highest-growth rate since the 1980s. In the latest Morning Consult/Politico poll, the $1.9 billion package was supported by 89 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Independents, and 60 percent of Republicans. Yet every single Republican senator voted against it.

What were Republicans thinking? Surely, they must know what’ll happen next. Within a week, those $1,400 checks will be in the mail. And millions of Americans will know two things: One, the help they need so badly has finally arrived. And two, every single Republican senator voted against it. The Republican Party is badly broken.

Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”