Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur blasts McConnell, Senate Republicans over minimal COVID-19 relief package, calling it a disgrace.... Kaptur's ninth congressional district extends from Toledo to Cleveland
Washington, D.C. — Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) on Monday released the following statement after the House passed a new round of bipartisan coronavirus relief that is expected to be signed into law by President Donald Trump in the coming days.
“American families should not have had to wait this long for coronavirus relief,” said Rep. Kaptur. “It is a national disgrace that Senate Republicans refused to act for over half a year while COVID-19 ravaged our nation, infecting over 17.2 million Americans and killing over 310,000, resulting in devastating public health and economic crises affecting every single person in this country.”
The House voted 359-53 on Monday to pass the $900 billion Covid-19 relief package shorty before the Senate approved the measure in a 92-6 vote.
It is the second major relief bill since the coronavirus pandemic began raging across the country in early March, this latest package providing stimulus checks of up to $600 per person for individuals earning $75,000 per year and married couples who earn up to $150,000, with $600 more for each dependent under 18 living in the same household.
Stimulus relief checks, however, are not expected until sometime in January.
A Toledo Democrat whose ninth congressional district extends to Cleveland, Kaptur is the longest serving woman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The federal lawmaker said Monday that House and Senate Republicans had acted irresponsibly in limiting this most recent round of coronavirus stimulus relief payments to $600.
“Despite Democrats’ efforts for larger relief payments, Republicans flatly refused and limited this legislation to a payment of $600 in direct relief even as coronavirus continues to infect more people on a daily basis than at any other point in the pandemic," said Kaptur. "While the direct aid is half of what we were able to approve last spring, the need has surely not subsided.
The congresswoman said that "the fact that this bill extends exactly zero dollars to state and local governments to aid in their coronavirus response is a disgrace and a failure of government."
She said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans "ought to be ashamed."
" All of this just three years after Republicans passed a $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut bill for corporations and the wealthy," she said.
Kaptur did acknowledge that something is better than nothing.
“While this coronavirus deal is far from perfect – it is also far better than nothing. It is the second largest stimulus package ever passed by Congress, second only to the CARES Act, including a $300 boost in weekly unemployment insurance, more than $300 billion in small business aid, $25 billion for rental assistance, and significant funding for hospitals, schools, and vaccine distribution," the congresswoman said.
Rep. Kaptur said that she "will continue to fight tooth and nail for Northern Ohio communities and working people across the country in the new Congress. This cannot be the last round of coronavirus relief the American people receive. It is not enough.”
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