The House passed the third stage of coronavirus response, despite the antics
of Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. It took great deal of
legislative maneuvering, with Massie insisting that he was going to
demand a recorded vote, rather than allowing it to pass—which was
inevitable—by voice vote. That meant that at least 216 members, enough
to provide a quorum, had to be in the chamber
simultaneously to defeat his demand, and allow the bill to pass by
voice. Which it did, as the House had planned on from the beginning.
They had members sitting in the gallery, an unusual if not unprecedented situation, so that they could maintain social distancing. All the same, Massie put all those colleagues—who had already had to travel from all over the country—in the same room. The staff did their best to keep everyone safe, but they all had to be in that room together. They all had to come to D.C. It will be a miracle if no member among the dozens who had to be there falls ill as a result of this stunt from Massie. If nothing else, this episode demonstrates that leadership has to take the health of Congress much more seriously. Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy, as well as Senate Leaders McConnell and Schumer, HAVE to figure out how to allow the Congress to function remotely.
Note EU-Digest: Trump tweeted : " I just signed the CARES Act, the single biggest economic relief package in American History – twice as large as any relief bill ever enacted. At $2.2 Trillion Dollars, this bill will deliver urgently-needed relief for our nation’s families, workers, and businesses". #CARESAct
https://twitter.com/senategop/status/1243613618186465280 …
And by doing so added $2,2 Trillion Dollars to the US Deficit. If it helps to get the US out of the doldrums great, but if this quickly put together aid package fails to do what Trump believes it will, it could also be the beginning of a US economic meltdown.
Read more: Defeating Republican stunt, House passes $2 trillion in coronavirus stimulus
They had members sitting in the gallery, an unusual if not unprecedented situation, so that they could maintain social distancing. All the same, Massie put all those colleagues—who had already had to travel from all over the country—in the same room. The staff did their best to keep everyone safe, but they all had to be in that room together. They all had to come to D.C. It will be a miracle if no member among the dozens who had to be there falls ill as a result of this stunt from Massie. If nothing else, this episode demonstrates that leadership has to take the health of Congress much more seriously. Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy, as well as Senate Leaders McConnell and Schumer, HAVE to figure out how to allow the Congress to function remotely.
Note EU-Digest: Trump tweeted : " I just signed the CARES Act, the single biggest economic relief package in American History – twice as large as any relief bill ever enacted. At $2.2 Trillion Dollars, this bill will deliver urgently-needed relief for our nation’s families, workers, and businesses". #CARESAct
https://twitter.com/senategop/status/1243613618186465280 …And by doing so added $2,2 Trillion Dollars to the US Deficit. If it helps to get the US out of the doldrums great, but if this quickly put together aid package fails to do what Trump believes it will, it could also be the beginning of a US economic meltdown.
Read more: Defeating Republican stunt, House passes $2 trillion in coronavirus stimulus
