WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) – U.S. President, Donald Trump, yesterday called for Congress to pass a “big and focused” COVID-19 relief bill, as confirmed cases are surging across the country.
“Congress must now do a Covid Relief Bill. Needs Democrats support. Make it big and focused. Get it done!” Trump said on Twitter.
Trump’s comments came, after the U.S. reported an all-time high of 200,000 new cases, setting a new record for the fifth time in a week.
U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Friday, also called the surging COVID-19 cases a “red alert” that requires “all hands on deck” in Congress.
“Our focus in Congress now, in this lame duck, continues to be on COVID-19 relief. This is a red alert,” Pelosi said, at a press briefing.
“We must save lives and livelihoods, and yet Republicans in Congress continue their tactics of delay, distort, and deny, which has led to deaths,” Pelosi said, adding, over 10 million Americans have been infected and 240,000 people have died because of this pandemic.
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary, Mnuchin, have been negotiating a new COVID-19 relief package for months, but failed to reach an agreement.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, renewed his push for a focused COVID-19 relief, and denounced Democrats’ proposal as “absurd.”
“Our country needs more smart, focused relief, targeted to schools, small businesses and those who are hurting the most,” McConnell said.
The Democrats-controlled House of Representatives in early Oct passed a 2.2-trillion-U.S.-dollar relief bill. Some Senate Republicans, however, insisted on a relief package below one trillion dollars, and failed to advance a 500-billion-dollar bill in late Oct.
Economists, as well as Federal Reserve officials, repeatedly argued that more fiscal relief is needed, to sustain the U.S. economic recovery, warning of dire consequences if further fiscal support is not provided in time.– NNN-AGENCIES
