Remember the CARES Act? That was seven months ago. Americans are struggling, and in dire need of federal coronavirus relief aid.
An extension of unemployment benefits and another round of stimulus checks has been proposed by Democrats, but Republicans are in limbo because President Trump regularly changes his mind on whether he supports coronavirus relief, such as the Heroes Act.
The Heroes Act, a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, passed a House vote five months ago on May 15, 2020, and is yet to be seriously considered by Trump or by the Senate. Unfortunately for Americans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is preoccupied with confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court—and, in the process, cementing the Court’s conservative majority for generations to come. McConnell has elected to pursue Barrett’s confirmation hearing rather than ensuring families survive the coronavirus pandemic.
All the while, Trump, who was recently exposed as having paid little to nothing in taxes, has benefitted from socialized medicine in the form of $100,000 worth of cutting-edge treatment for his coronavirus infection. Now, he’s dipping into the Medicare Trust Fund to send $200 drug discount cards with his name on it to older voters ahead of the election.
Karen Dolan, director of the Criminalization of Race and Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, joined Rising Up With Sonali to discuss these issues, and how Trump continues to look out for himself while most Americans struggle.