U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told CNBC’s SquawkBox on Wednesday that Republicans will try again to pass their bill that would provide PPP and vaccine funding despite Democrats’ attempts to block the efforts.
CNBC asked Blackburn if she would vote for a deal if the White House and the Treasury Department reached an agreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).
In response, Blackburn said, “What we’re going to do is put our bill that we have already had on the floor back on the floor and give the Democrats the opportunity to address the issues that most people say we need to address: more PPP, plussing up unemployment, money for vaccines, testing.”
She was asked again about her support, and she said she does not yet know what type of deal would be reached. Republicans have had a bill ready, worth about $500 billion. She spoke against spending $2 billion on unneeded projects.
“This is not the time to be bailing out cities and states that have mismanaged themselves,” she said. “It is not the time to be addressing marijuana sales or usage or research. This is the time to focus on getting people back to work and children back in school.”
A majority of Democrats in the Senate on Tuesday voted against a standalone relief bill that would have restarted the Paycheck Protection Program, Forbes reported.
Blackburn is not alone in saying that taxpayers should not bail out mismanaged states.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said, “I support another package. What I don’t support is having Montana taxpayers responsible for what’s happened in places like California and New York that are not COVID related,” according to a story by The Hill.
– – –
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
