Washington Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats of pushing a coronavirus relief package that focuses on “spending cash on the problem and shutting down States. United “while negotiations continue on the next measure.
In an interview with “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Cruz said the country faces two crises simultaneously: a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 600,000 people worldwide and an “absolute economic catastrophe” in the United States. United.
But Cruz said Pelosi, who showed up in “Face the Nation” in front of the senator, “he’s” focused on none of those. “
“His goals are to shovel cash into the problem and shut the United States down,” said the Texas Republican. “And in particular, you look at the $ 3 trillion bill he’s trying to drive, he’s just paying money to his friends, and he’s not really solving the problem. Our goal should be for Americans to want to go back to work. They want to be able to provide for your family. “
Republicans in the Senate and White House spent last week negotiating terms for the fourth phase of the coronavirus response, which they hope to cost $ 1 billion. Over the weekend, White House chief of staff Mark Meadow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin returned to Capitol Hill for more talks with Senate staff, and Mnuchin told Fox News in an interview. On Sunday the details will be revealed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Monday.
The most pressing issue for lawmakers, and a point of discussion between Republicans and Democrats, is the expiration of the improved unemployment benefits, which began to disappear this weekend. While Democrats want the “phase four” coronavirus package to keep the $ 600 increase in benefits, Republicans call for it to be cut and argue that some Americans get more from unemployment than they did from wages.
Cruz said that more than half of Americans receiving enhanced unemployment benefits receive more payments now than when they worked, and said he has spoken with small business owners in Texas who are having trouble re-hiring employees.
“Of course, they will not return because the federal government is paying them, in some cases, twice as much money to stay home,” he said.
Cruz said Congress should focus on passing a recovery bill that would make it easier for Americans to return to work, easing taxes and small business regulations “rather than just shoving billions out the door.”
“A recovery bill would suspend the payroll tax, which would give a raise to everyone who is working in the United States. That actually makes people go back to work,” he said.
President Trump last week demanded that the next aid package include a payroll tax cut, but Mnuchin said it will not be part of the legislation, as the proposal was poorly received by Republicans. Trump acknowledged that the payroll tax cut would be absent in the next bill, but he tried to blame Democrats.
Cruz, who last week opposed the cost of the next package, said Sunday that he disagrees with the move by his Republican colleagues in the Senate. But he also criticized the $ 3 trillion bill passed by the Democrat-controlled House in May and accused his political opponents of deliberately crafting a measure that harms the president before the November election.
“The only goal Democrats have is to defeat Donald Trump, and they have cynically decided that the best way to defeat Donald Trump is to close all businesses in the United States, to close all schools in the United States,” he said. “You know, Nancy Pelosi talks about working men and women. What she is proposing is to prevent men and women from working.”
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