Senator McConnell (R-KY) finally did something useful.
As Democrats were trying to push through a new COVID relief bill for money that is not needed, the GOP stood firm.
The catch… give us back Title 42 and we will give you your money.
Still Don’t Like It
Without using reconciliation, Democrats need a total of 60 votes to get this funding bill passed.
Republicans all stood firm with “no” votes, as did Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).
When Schumer saw how the vote was going, he switched his vote to a “no” at the last second so he could re-floor the vote in the future.
Even though there are billions of dollars from previous COVID relief bills that are unused, Democrats want more money.
That does even account for all the money reallocated to other programs.
Before this legislation is passed, my personal opinion is that states that reallocated the initial funding should have to repay it out of state funds.
I would guarantee that $10 billion would be ponied up real quick.
Better yet, before another funding bill is passed, how about a full accounting of where all those trillions were spent.
Unfortunately, what we are going to have to settle for is Title 42 being put back in place.
After blocking the funding bill, McConnell stated, “There’ll have to be an amendment on Title 42 to move the bill.
“We’ll need to enter into some kind of agreement to process these amendments in order to go forward with the bill.”
Schumer, of course, accused Republicans of holding the legislation hostage to get their way.
The White House was also upset, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki stating, “As we have repeatedly said, there are consequences for Congress failing to fund our COVID Response.
“The program that reimbursed doctors, pharmacists and other providers for vaccinating the uninsured had to end today due to a lack of funds.
“America’s supply of monoclonal antibodies that are effective at keeping people out of the hospital will run out as soon as late May.
“Our test manufacturing capacity will begin ramping down at the end of June.
“Today’s Senate vote is a step backward for our ability to respond to this virus.
“We will continue to work with the House and Senate to move this vital legislation forward.”
The amount of taxpayer money that has been abused and wasted in the name of COVID is staggering, which is exactly why nobody will ever come forward to demand a transparent accounting of that money.
Source: New York Post