Coronavirus Financial Package: Republican Senator Delays Vote With Futile Amendment

The Senate has been on track to pass a financial package to help working Americans during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. However, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has proposed a futile amendment that would delay the passage of the bill.

The legislation already passed in the House of Representatives and would provide free coronavirus testing to citizens, along with strengthening unemployment insurance. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act had bipartisan support in the House and was endorsed by President Trump, although 40 Republicans voted against the bill.

Paul’s amendment would "require a social security number for purposes of the child tax credit, and to provide the President the authority to transfer funds as necessary, and to terminate United States military operations and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took up the amendment on Wednesday, but it has little to no chance of passing.

One top Democrat mocked the amendment.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the House bill "must pass the Senate today but unfortunately, first we must dispose of a Republican amendment that would make a condition of the bill to require the president to terminate military operations in Afghanistan. Yes you heard me right!" Schumer called the amendment "a colossal waste of time."

Congress is scrambling to assist American workers and industries impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Some Republicans have been concerned about the cost of some of the proposed legislation, but McConnell has told his fellow Republicans to “gag and vote for it” because “these are not ordinary times” for the country.

The coronavirus could dramatically damage the U.S. economy, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warning of unemployment rates as high as 20%. The Trump administration reportedly wants to spend $500 billion in two rounds of payments to taxpayers in order to protect the economy amid the crisis. Another $50 billion would be set aside to help the hard-hit airline industry, while $150 billion would be set aside for “other distressed sectors.”

There are at least 7,324 cases of coronavirus in the United States, with the death toll reaching115.