Sen. John Barrasso on COVID relief negotiations: Nancy Pelosi is living on 'Fantasy Island'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is proposing runaway government spending, says Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposals for the next coronavirus aid package show she is “still living on Fantasy Island,” Sen. John Barrasso said on Monday.
“She is proposing truly runaway government spending. Not aimed at coronavirus but spending at its worst,” Barrasso, R-Wyo., told “America’s Newsroom.”
Barrasso said that Pelosi wants to “spend money to bail out states that have been failing long before the coronavirus” pandemic damaged them and send direct checks to illegal immigrants and pay people more for not working than they are paid to work.”
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Senate Republicans unveiled the “HEALS Act,” their version of a fresh round of coronavirus relief last week. HEALS stands for the package’s focus on Health, Economic Assistance, Liability protection and Schools.
The $1 trillion Republican bill is the alternative to the House’s “Heroes Act,” the $3 trillion relief legislation passed in May. The “Heroes Act” was the most expensive legislation approved by that body in history.
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On Sunday, Pelosi, D-Calif., said the two sides can't even agree on the basics. She did not seem willing to compromise on the extra $600 a week.
Barrasso said that while Pelosi wants to send “bonus payments” to Americans through 2021, Republicans, on the other hand, are focusing on getting America “open, back to work safely and sensibly” as well as bringing kids back to school in the fall.
“The Democrats seem to be the party that wants to shut down the country in terms of jobs, schools, and the economy,” Barrasso said.
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“People should not be paid more to not work than they can get at work. In addition to unemployment insurance that people get, there is a $600 a week bonus check on top of that. So, two-thirds of workers are getting more for not working than they would if they went back to work.”
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