WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today released the following statement after voting against the Republican stimulus proposal:

“Mitch McConnell knew from the very beginning that this bill was on the road to nowhere. While Senate Democrats made our priorities clear and stood ready to negotiate, the Republican Majority wasted months and refused to meaningfully engage. Now they have offered a sham plan that fails American families and fails to seriously address the health and economic crises our country is facing.

“The GOP bill cuts the $600-a-week in enhanced federal unemployment benefits by half and provides zero direct assistance to help our state and local governments maintain critical services and keep essential workers on the job. It completely ignores the threat of families losing their homes to foreclosure or eviction, doesn’t provide nearly enough funding to ensure all our schools can safely reopen, and provides no additional funding to prevent people from going hungry or to help keep public transportation moving. It omits worker protections and provides no hazard pay for those working on the frontlines. It provides no funding for nursing homes, hospitals, and community health centers. It fails to include any new funding to safeguard the November election, ensure an accurate census, or provide the support necessary to maintain the U.S. Postal Service. This wasn’t a serious proposal and Americans deserve better than this.

“I’m ready to vote for a comprehensive, bipartisan bill that provides real solutions to the very real problems we face as a nation, but this bill was designed to fail. It’s time Republicans get serious about helping the unemployed, teachers and students, small business owners, and seniors struggling to put food on the table. My Democratic colleagues and I have offered sensible, pragmatic solutions—many with broad bipartisan support—and I call on Senator McConnell to bring these proposals to the Senate Floor for a vote. It’s time we put hardworking families ahead of petty election-year politics.” 

 

###