Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell predicted problems are sure to pop up in getting the aid from the latest coronavirus relief package to its targets.
The Kentucky Republican spoke to McClatchy about the relief bill he supported and President Trump signed last week. The package included a host of loan opportunities for businesses affected by the coronavirus, as well as checks of $1,200 for most people in the United States.
“There are bound to be problems,” McConnell said. “You can’t pass a bill of this magnitude in a week and have a perfect implementation of $2.2 trillion, so sure, there are going to be glitches.”
The bill was the largest relief package ever signed in U.S. history. Along with financial aid for businesses, the legislation, called the CARE Act, provided funding for healthcare workers and increased and extended unemployment benefits during the pandemic. The bill also included funding that critics said had nothing to do with the U.S. response to the coronavirus, such as $25 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“It was largely drafted by the Republican Senate with Democratic input, and we passed it unanimously. I was proud of our members. The only people who didn’t vote were those who were in quarantine,” McConnell said. “I think, by any objective standard, this was a stunning accomplishment.”
