Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) on Monday afternoon slammed Democrats for delaying a vote on a massive coronavirus-relief package, accusing them of holding up the bill in an attempt to check of items on their “ideological wish-list.”
“There is a good bill, a bill that was negotiated in good faith over the weekend with many Democrats . . . that they are now blocking, that they will not even start debate on because of ideological wish-list items,” Cotton said on the Senate floor. “It is disgraceful, and it is dangerous to the lives of our people and their economic well-being.”
The competing bill promoted by House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) includes measures to cap carbon emissions for airlines, mandate “diversity” initiatives for corporate boards, and forgive student-loan debt.
“Democrats want to impose quotas for race and sex on corporate boards,” Cotton said. “Is that going to stop anyone from getting sick from coronavirus?”
Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who spoke immediately after Cotton, also said the Democrats’ proposed stimulus was a non-starter.
“It’s not gonna work. We’re not gonna do this,” Graham said of the bill, accusing the House of “holding hostage“ relief for Americans.
The Democrats’ proposal was revealed following House majority whip James Clyburn’s (R., S.C.) comments on Thursday that the bill represented “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.”
Democrats in the Senate voted on Monday to prevent debate on the Republican package for a second day in a row, with only Senator Doug Jones (D., Ala.) breaking ranks. Negotiations among the Trump administration and senators of both parties are said to be ongoing.