“Republican Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the U.S. Senate for the rest of August on
Thursday after failing to come anywhere close to approving another Covid-19
relief package, leaving tens of millions of out-of-work, hungry, and
eviction-prone Americans without additional financial aid as the pandemic and
economic crisis continue with no end in sight.
“‘During the worst economic crisis since
the 1930s, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans think they can take a long
vacation while millions of Americans face hunger and eviction. That is morally
obscene,’ Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in response to McConnell's decision. ‘It's
time for the do-nothing Republican Senate to finally do its damn job.’
“The departure of
the Republican-controlled Senate comes after an attempt to revive Covid-19
relief talks earlier this week quickly failed as Democratic leaders and Trump
administration officials remained far apart on key issues, from emergency
funding for the U.S. Postal Service to aid to faltering state and local
governments. In her weekly press conference Thursday,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said White House negotiators refused to
budge from their insufficient relief offers.
“The Senate is not expected to return
until September 8, when economic conditions are likely to be even more dire for
the 40 million people at risk of eviction, 30
million facing drastic income cuts due to the lapse in enhanced
unemployment benefits, and 14 million households with children that don't
have enough to eat.
“‘This is pathetic and devastating,’
consumer advocacy group Public Citizen tweeted after McConnell adjourned the upper
chamber until after Labor Day. Just before skipping town, the Kentucky
Republican advanced five more of President Donald Trump's right-wing judicial
nominees.
“Earlier Thursday, the Labor Department reported (pdf) that 963,000 Americans filed for
unemployment benefits last week—a figure that corporate news outlets presented as the first time since March that
initial weekly jobless claims dipped below a million.
“But Julia Wolfe, state economic analyst at
the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a blog post Thursday that the Labor
Department's report downplays the number of workers who filed for unemployment
benefits last week. The actual figure, according to Wolfe, is 1.3 million.
“‘Astonishingly high numbers of workers
continue to claim UI, and we are still 12.9 million jobs short of February
employment levels,’ Wolfe wrote. ‘And yet, Senate Republicans allowed the
across-the-board $600 increase in weekly UI benefits—the most effective
economic policy crisis response so far—to expire.’
“‘In an unserious move of political
theater, the Trump administration has proposed starting up an entirely new system
of restoring wages to laid-off workers through executive order (EO),’ Wolfe
continued. ‘But even in their EO wish list, the Trump administration would
slash the federal contribution to enhanced unemployment benefits in half, to
$300. This inaction and ongoing uncertainty are causing significant economic
pain for workers who have lost their job during the pandemic and their
families.’
“With tens of millions of low-income and
middle-class Americans facing financial ruin as the White House and
congressional Republicans stonewall an additional relief package, the Washington Post's Heather Long reported Thursday that the coronavirus-induced
recession ‘is over for the rich.’
“‘U.S. stocks are hovering near a record
high, a stunning comeback since March that underscores the new phase the
economy has entered: The wealthy have mostly recovered. The bottom half remain
far from it,’ Long wrote. ‘This dichotomy is evident in many facets of the
economy, especially in employment. Jobs are fully back for the highest wage
earners, but fewer than half the jobs lost this spring have returned for those
making less than $20 an hour.’
“In a statement Thursday, Kyle Herrig, president of
advocacy group Accountable.US, slammed the Republican-controlled Senate for
opting to ‘pack up and leave Washington for a month without making a new deal
to assist American workers and small business owners.’
“‘The luxuries of paid time off and premium
health insurance afforded to senators is of little help to the millions of
Americans who lost their jobs during this crisis,’ said Herrig. ‘Where is the
urgency to get workers and their families the help they need?’
“Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the
architects of the now-expired $600-per-week unemployment insurance boost, tweeted: ‘Donald Trump is suppressing votes to steal
an election. Almost 30 million are on unemployment and 168,000+ Americans are
dead. McConnell just adjourned the Senate for a month. Every time I think
Republicans can't run this country any further into the ground,’ Wyden wrote, ‘they
prove me wrong’” (Jake Johnson, Common Dreams).
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