Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday will try to pass a $250 billion small business relief bill quickly through the Senate without debate or a roll call vote, he announced, ignoring demands by Democrats to increase the scope and cost of the bill.
“I hope none of my colleagues object to my request for these urgently-needed funds. There is no reason why this bipartisan job-saving program should be held hostage for other priorities,” McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Let’s re-fund the only program that’s already running dry and keep moving forward together.”
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McConnell is headed for a clash with Democrats in both the House and Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Wednesday they want the small business relief package to include other funding. They seek $100 billion for healthcare facilities and $150 billion for state and local governments.
“The heartbreaking acceleration of the coronavirus crisis demands bold, urgent and ongoing action from Congress to protect Americans’ lives and livelihoods,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement Wednesday. “As Democrats have said since Day One, Congress must provide additional relief for small businesses and families, building on the strong down-payment made in the bipartisan CARES Act.”
President Trump signed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act on March 28. It included $350 billion in small business aid, more than $100 billion for healthcare facilities, and $150 billion for state and local governments.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Senate Republicans this week that the small business fund is running dry and asked McConnell to bring up a measure that provides an additional $250 billion.
The money is considered vital. It is provided to small businesses that maintain most of their workforce during the economic shutdown brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.
“If we want to act fast, Congress has to focus,” McConnell said in the Wednesday statement. “There is no realistic chance that another sprawling bill which allocates half-a-trillion dollars to a number of priorities, even important ones, will be able to pass the Senate or the House by unanimous consent this week.”
McConnell said Democrats should drop their demands and allow the measure to pass the Senate on Thursday.
The Democrat-controlled House would then have to pass it by unanimous consent or voice vote. Neither action requires all lawmakers to be in the chamber for a roll-call vote. Congress is adjourned until at least April 20 due to the coronavirus threat.
Any lawmaker can block a unanimous consent request.
In the House, Rep. Tom Massie, a Kentucky Republican, hinted Wednesday he would request a roll-call vote if the House attempts to pass another major economic relief package.
