“We haven’t heard a peep from (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell or the Republicans or the administration about any proposal, even though we’ve been asking for weeks and weeks and weeks,” Schumer said in a conference call with workers. and advocates lobbying for significant state and local funds, a critical point of impending negotiations.
Schumer denounced McConnell’s decision to write the proposal entirely within his own conference, noting that Democratic support will be necessary for any final package to go to the Senate.
“McConnell knows from previous bills that were passed in the Senate that he has to work across the hall,” Schumer said.
Citing past negotiations that produced nearly $ 3 trillion in federal emergency funds to try to stem the double economic and public health crisis created by the coronavirus, Schumer said that when McConnell has tried to negotiate between Republicans alone, “it fails.”
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has taken a methodical approach to the next round of federal aid, largely because its members have lobbied to delay the process while watching how previously approved money is spent. Republicans have worked for the past two weeks to piece together pieces of their legislation, which McConnell has repeatedly said will focus on three main issues: “children, jobs, and health care.”
The proposal, obtained by CNN, has circulated within the White House and among Republican senators. It would provide temporary legal protections for organizations that make reasonable efforts to comply with public health guidelines and do not demonstrate gross negligence. Defendants would have the right to file lawsuits in federal court, according to the summary document, which would cover the period from December 2019 to 2024.
“The bottom line is that we will fight for the entire HEROES billing period,” said Schumer.
He told Senate Democrats in a private conference call this week that there would be no negotiations without House Democrats in the room, according to a person on the call.
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