Rep. Alex Mooney (WV-2) votes against conoravirus response bill
*With important afternoon update
Early this morning, the House of Representatives voted 364-40 to pass emergency coronavirus relief legislation. From the Associated Press:
The Democratic-controlled House, with President Donald Trump’s support, early Saturday passed a bill to provide free testing for the coronavirus, as well as paid sick and family leave, strengthened unemployment insurance and increased food aid to ease the hardship on families. The legislation will be taken up by the Senate next week.
All 40 "no" votes were cast by Republicans. Alex Mooney, from WV's 2nd Congressional District, was one of them. (McKinley and Miller voted for the legislation.) Here is Mooney's explanation:
My statement on this evening's vote: pic.twitter.com/lFR6hsJSln
— Rep. Alex Mooney (@RepAlexMooney) March 14, 2020
Afternoon update
The New York Times Editorial Board is pointing out that this coronavirus legislation has problems:
There’s a Giant Hole in Pelosi’s Coronavirus Bill
and the subheading states:
The legislation passed by the House doesn’t actually guarantee paid sick leave to most American workers.
As the Times explains:
. . . . the bill guarantees sick leave only to about 20 percent of workers. Big employers like McDonald’s and Amazon are not required to provide any paid sick leave, while companies with fewer than 50 employees can seek hardship exemptions from the Trump administration.
“If you are sick, stay home,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. “You’re not going to miss a pay check.”
But that’s simply not true. Sick workers should stay home, but there is no guarantee in the emergency legislation that most of them will get paid.
It explains:
The White House and congressional Republicans, who insisted on the exemptions as the price of bipartisan support for the legislation, bear the primary responsibility for the indefensible decision to prioritize corporate profits in the midst of a public health emergency.
Nice. I agree with the editorial board's conclusion:
The House’s failure to require universal paid sick leave is an embarrassment that endangers the health of workers, consumers and the broader American public.