Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Chances for COVID Relief Bill Slim as Parties Bicker
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
November 12, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden’s top allies on Capitol Hill adopted a combative posture on COVID-19 relief on Thursday, accusing Washington Republicans of dragging their feet in acknowledging Biden’s victory while doubling down on a $2 trillion-plus relief bill that’s a nonstarter with congressional Republicans.

The message from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — both of whom witnessed disappointing outcomes in House and Senate races last week — was that Republicans should concede the presidential election was won by Biden and immediately return to negotiations on COVID relief, with the Democrats’ $2.4 trillion “HEROES Act” as the starting point.

“It’s most unfortunate that the Republicans have decided that they will not respect the will of the people,” Pelosi told reporters. “It’s like the house is burning down, and they just refuse to throw water on it.”

Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, speaking just minutes later from the same podium, accused Pelosi of playing politics with COVID, deliberately dragging out pre-election talks on new relief to deny President Donald Trump a victory that could have helped him in the election.

The continued battling comes as caseloads are spiking across the country in a third wave of the pandemic that is threatening a dangerous winter, despite advances in vaccine development and treatments to fight it the disease. The rebound of the economy has been relatively strong so far, but both sides agree more help is needed — even as they spar over specifics like jobless assistance and the means to distribute treatments and vaccines.

Pelosi Took a Hard Line in the Talks

Congress virtually unanimously passed a $1.8 trillion COVID rescue bill in March, but top leaders and the administration have fought for months over what another installment of relief should entail. Before the election, with Democrats riding high in the polls, Pelosi took a hard line in the talks, even as the administration made numerous concessions. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, shied away from concessions made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as well.

“She sacrificed our economy and people who were hurting,” McCarthy said.

The combative postures all around don’t appear to bode well for a quick resolution or the smooth resumption of the serious talks that flamed out before Election Day. Capitol Hill is in limbo, frozen by the refusal of Trump and Republicans like McCarthy to accept Biden’s victory and by two Senate runoff elections in Georgia that Republicans are favored to win to maintain control of the chamber.

Pelosi and Schumer, meanwhile, continue to press COVID relief proposals like more than $400 billion in aid to state and local governments that powerful Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., simply won’t accept.

“What Joe Biden got in this election was a mandate, a mandate to address the challenges that our country faces,” Pelosi said. “And in order to do that, we must address the COVID, the pandemic.”

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Fired Teacher and Coach Ed Madec Seeks Justice

DON'T MISS

Fresno Location Is Among the 500 JOANN Fabrics Closures

DON'T MISS

Clovis Wrestles With Fallout From ‘Non-Sanctuary City’ Idea

DON'T MISS

California Farm Donates Hundreds of Thousands of Eggs to Wildfire Victims, First Responders

DON'T MISS

As Council Race Heats Up, Dyer Credits ‘One Fresno’ for New SE Sports Park

DON'T MISS

Editorials of The Times: Now Is Not the Time to Tune Out

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Substitute Questions Students About Immigration Status

DON'T MISS

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

DON'T MISS

Look Past Elon Musk’s Chaos. There’s Something More Sinister at Work.

DON'T MISS

Navy Crew Members Eject From Their Jet Before It Crashes off the San Diego Coast

UP NEXT

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

UP NEXT

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

UP NEXT

Red, White, and Blueland? GOP Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename Greenland

UP NEXT

White House Bars AP Reporter From Oval Office Because of AP Style Policy on ‘Gulf of America’

UP NEXT

Russia Has Released Detained American Teacher Marc Fogel, the White House Says

UP NEXT

Canned Tuna Sold at Trader Joe’s, Costco, H-E-B Recalled for Botulism Risk

UP NEXT

Fact Check: No Evidence Chelsea Clinton Took $84 Million From USAID

UP NEXT

Private Jets Collide at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, Killing at Least 1 Person, Authorities Say

UP NEXT

Farmers Caught in Limbo as Trump’s USDA Suspends Program Funding

UP NEXT

53% Approve of Trump’s Job Performance Amid Economic Concerns

California Farm Donates Hundreds of Thousands of Eggs to Wildfire Victims, First Responders

12 hours ago

As Council Race Heats Up, Dyer Credits ‘One Fresno’ for New SE Sports Park

12 hours ago

Editorials of The Times: Now Is Not the Time to Tune Out

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified Substitute Questions Students About Immigration Status

13 hours ago

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

14 hours ago

Look Past Elon Musk’s Chaos. There’s Something More Sinister at Work.

14 hours ago

Navy Crew Members Eject From Their Jet Before It Crashes off the San Diego Coast

14 hours ago

Kellen Moore Exits Eagles to Become Saints Head Coach

14 hours ago

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

15 hours ago

CHP K-9 Seizes 50 Pounds of Illicit Mushrooms in Fresno County

16 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Fired Teacher and Coach Ed Madec Seeks Justice

On this week’s Wired Wednesday, GV Wire senior reporter David Taub talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Karl Cooke about the firing of ...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Fired Teacher and Coach Ed Madec Seeks Justice

11 hours ago

Fresno Location Is Among the 500 JOANN Fabrics Closures

12 hours ago

Clovis Wrestles With Fallout From ‘Non-Sanctuary City’ Idea

Rosemary Farm family representatives Jose Pelayo, left, and Lisa Stothart deliver a donation of hundreds of thousands of fresh eggs to feed first responders and those in need in the community through the donation of Rosemary Eggs at the Los Angeles Food Regional Bank in City of Industry, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP/Damian Dovarganes)
12 hours ago

California Farm Donates Hundreds of Thousands of Eggs to Wildfire Victims, First Responders

12 hours ago

As Council Race Heats Up, Dyer Credits ‘One Fresno’ for New SE Sports Park

President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
13 hours ago

Editorials of The Times: Now Is Not the Time to Tune Out

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified Substitute Questions Students About Immigration Status

Priya Kathpal, right, and Taylor Williamson, left, who work for a company doing contract work for the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, carry signs outside the USAID headquarters in Washington, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
14 hours ago

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend