U.S. Sen. John Barrasso urged his Democratic colleagues in the Senate to join Republican senators in passing in a new coronavirus relief bill.
Congress is debating another coronavirus relief bill, this time amounting to $900 billion, which would also include a new round of stimulus checks.
“I come to the floor today to ask our Democrat colleagues to join us, the Republicans, in providing immediate relief,” Barrasso said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Relief in the fight against coronavirus, and relief, economic relief, for the people of this country.”
He said that Americans don’t ask much of their government, but they are asking for help with controlling the spread of the coronavirus and assistance with economic recovery.
Barrasso, when speaking on cable news channels such as Fox, has been a steadfast proponent of providing relief for Americans so they can get “back to work, back to school and help the economy recover.”
While the CARES Act provided $2.2 trillion in relief to the United States, the $1,200 stimulus check was issued nearly eight months ago, leaving many Americans in the lurch in the meantime, Barrasso said.
“Our bill is practical. It supports our neighborhoods, the men and women working on Main Street and our small towns and communities all across the country,” Barrasso said during his speech. “We also need to provide unemployment help for those who for no reason of their own happen to find themselves out of work as a result of the pandemic.”
He added that the coronavirus vaccine needed to be available to as many Americans as possible, in the quickest and safest manner. He again compared the vaccine to insulin and penicillin, as well as the polio vaccine.
“It’s a remarkable time for our nation. As Christmas packages are being delivered, so is this great hope for people receiving the vaccine,” he said.
Barrasso accused Congressional Democrats of politicizing the pandemic, adding that House and Senate Republicans have tried “40 times” to get a bill accepted to “provide relief for the American public.”
“And I turn to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and say please join us this holiday season to make sure the American people who don’t ask for much, are able to continue to keep their lives on track and move forward into the year 2021 with a vaccine available to everyone and for a much better New Year,” he concluded.
