Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso accused Sen. Elizabeth Warren of holding American workers’ paychecks “hostage” following news the Massachusetts Democrat is attempting to add an “Essential Workers Bill of Rights” to coronavirus relief.
Warren released the 10-point plan for essential workers on Monday, calling for higher wages, universal sick pay, protective gear for workers, access to free healthcare, and added protections for whistleblowers, Business Insider reported.
Frontline workers – health care, transit, farm, grocery, domestic & delivery workers – are risking their lives to keep America running. We can’t rely on big business to protect them. So @RepRoKhanna & I are proposing an Essential Workers Bill of Rights to #ProtectEssentialWorkers pic.twitter.com/XlO1TKguVI
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) April 13, 2020
“Elizabeth Warren is trying to hold hostage, at gunpoint, American workers’ paychecks,” Barrasso said when asked by Stuart Varney whether Warren’s plan will “get in the way” of the second coronavirus relief bill.
Barrasso described the plan as “the Ten Commandments of the liberal Left,” adding that it’s a “continuation of her failed presidential campaign.”
“This at a time when the fund is running out of the money that can be sent to small businesses all around the country, here in Wyoming, to workers, to farmers, to ranchers, to small businesses, so we can keep people getting paychecks,” Barrasso told Varney. “It’s worked so far for 15 million Americans who continue to get paychecks. About a million of these loans have gone out. It’s been very successful. But by the end of the week, Stuart, we are going to be out of money, so we won’t be able to do more of this opportunity to keep those paychecks going. And Elizabeth Warren is standing in the way.”
Varney then pointed out that the House has announced representatives won’t be coming back to Washington until May 4, and that could be a problem when it comes to delivering more relief to workers.
“That’s why we’re saying, ‘Let’s work on the parts that are running out of money,’ and right now, that’s the program for workers to continue to get their paychecks, the Paycheck Protection Program, which has been widely successful,” Barrasso responded.
“My goal is to get [the] country open again, get the economy moving again, but for the program that is running out of money this week, which is the Paycheck Protection Program for people … who work for small businesses, and you know, Stuart, about 7 out of 10 Americans work for small businesses, if you’re somebody who works for a small business, you need your paycheck. And if that business wants to keep you and wants to be able to open for business when America opens up again, we need this program. It’s a simple, one-page bill to raise the number from $350 billion to $600 billion. That’s what the Democrats, Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi, are blocking.”
