On the recordAugust 4, 2020
I want to start by addressing a few of the things that the minority leader, Senator Schumer, discussed this morning. Last week, Senator Schumer twice--twice--blocked an extension to the Federal unemployment bonus payments. Twice, the Democratic leader threw his hands up, and he said no. He said: Democrats will not support an extension of these benefits--he said--at any level. Why? He said why. He said he wants Republicans to pass his leader's bill. His leader is Nancy Pelosi. It is partisan, and it is loaded. Senator Schumer likes to talk about some of the things in the Speaker's bill, but he carefully avoids much of it because one-third of the spending is completely unrelated to coronavirus--a full one-third. Senator Schumer says we remain far apart. He said that the difference is between ``priorities and scale.'' Priorities and scale. Well, let's look at some of the priorities in the bill that he supports: direct payment checks to illegal immigrants; taxpayer-funded abortions; changes to election laws--permanent; tax breaks for the wealthy in New York and in California; millions and millions more for environmental justice, the National Endowment for the Arts. It is a long, long list. The minority leader's statement was full of metaphors and analogies this morning, but he had very little, if any, substance.…





