Earlier this evening the Senate passed the coronavirus bill that came from the House on Monday (the one which needed technical corrections) and it passed by a vote of 90-8. Ted Cruz, who is no longer in self-quarantine, was one of those who voted for the bill and explained his vote in a press release:
“There is a vital role for the federal government to act in times of emergency and crisis. This is one of those times. While this bill is not perfect, it will provide much-needed relief for the men and women in Texas who right now are hurting as a result of this outbreak, including waivers to allow schools to continue serving meals during temporary closure and greater access to COVID-19 testing.“I am, however, very concerned that this legislation’s burdensome leave mandates could unintentionally drive small businesses into bankruptcy. That’s why I joined with Senator Johnson on an amendment to fix this problem and instead provide relief by temporarily enhancing the unemployment insurance program. I’m disappointed that the Senate voted down our amendment, largely along party lines, leaving these very real concerns unaddressed.
“We still have much more work ahead of us to do. I’ve called on federal officials to focus on four immediate priorities to detect, treat, and prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect public health, which will ultimately prevent further economic harm. As we look to the next steps we can take in Congress, I’m urging my colleagues to focus on passing commonsense, targeted proposals to direct additional resources to combatting this pandemic and delivering relief to the people who are suffering real economic devastation as a result of this crisis.”
I hope that his concerns for small businesses are addressed in the stimulus bill which they are working on now. I’m not sure what the exact price tag is going to be for it, but it should be close to a trillion.
In case you are wondering who the 8 were that voted against the bill, they were all Republicans and their names are below:
Blackburn (R-TN)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (R-WI)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lee (R-UT)
Paul (R-KY)
Sasse (R-NE)
Scott (R-SC)
The two Republicans who did not vote at all were Gardner (R-CO) and Scott (R-FL).