About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2020)
10A Midweek Edition - September 9-10, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com POLITICS McConnell proposes ‘targeted’ virus aid Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, walks to his office from the Senate floor, Tuesday, Sept. 8, on Capitol Hill in Washington. BY ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the Senate would vote on a trimmed-down Repub lican coronavirus relief package, though it has a slim chance of passage in the face of Democrats’ insistence for more sweeping aid. The Kentucky Republican released the approximately $500 billion measure as senators returned to Washington for an abbreviated pre-election session, as hopes are dimming for another coronavirus relief bill — or much else. Republicans struggling to retain their Senate majority this fall have been divided, with some GOP senators in close races anxious to respond further to the pandemic, even as conservatives are tiring of all the spending and passing legislation in concert with liberal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. McConnell called the package “a targeted proposal that focuses on several of the most urgent aspects of this crisis, the issues where bipartisanship should be especially possible.” They included school aid, new money for vaccines and testing, and a second round of the popular Pay- check Protection Program for smaller businesses. Democrats are demanding a far larger bill, including hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, more gener ous jobless benefits, and help for renters and homeowners, along with other provisions in the House Democrats’ $3.5 billion relief bill that passed in May. Republican senators such as Susan Collins of Maine are eager to show constituents they are con tinuing to work to ease the pan JACQUELYN MARTIN I Associated Press demic’s disastrous impact on jobs, businesses and health. But many Senate Republicans are resisting more spending and the scaled- back bill is roughly half the size of a measure McConnell unveiled earlier this summer. McConnell’s move Tuesday would clear the way for a Thurs day test vote in which Democrats are sure to block the legisla tion. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill “doesn’t come close to addressing the problems and is headed nowhere.” McConnell’s bill would provide $105 billion to help schools reopen, enact a shield against lawsuits for businesses and others that are powering ahead to reopen, cre ate a scaled-back $300-per-week supplemental jobless benefit, and write off $10 billion in earlier debt at the U.S. Postal Service. There’s $31 billion for a coronavirus vac cine, $16 billion for virus testing and $15 billion to help child care providers reopen. There is addi tionally $20 billion for farmers. The package will also include a school choice initiative sought by Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and others that would provide a tax break, for two years, for people who donate to nonprofit organi zations offering private school scholarships. It would also provide for a $258 billion second round of paycheck protection subsidies. But it won’t contain another round of $1,200 direct payments going out under Trump’s name. Pelosi, D-Calif., continues to demand a package totaling $2.2 trillion, and while Trump’s nego tiators have signaled a willingness to inch further in her direction, a significant gap remains. Talks between top Democrats and the Trump administration broke off last month and remain off track, with the bipartisan unity that drove almost $3 trillion in COVID-19 rescue legislation into law this spring replaced by toxic partisanship and a return to Wash ington dysfunction. Expectations in July and August that a fifth bipartisan pandemic response bill would eventually be birthed despite increased obsta cles has been replaced by genuine pessimism. Recent COVID-related conversations among key players have led to nothing. Democrats seem secure in their political position, with President Donald Trump and several Sen ate GOP incumbents lagging in the polls. Trump is seeking to sideline the pandemic as a campaign issue, and Republicans aren’t interested in a deal on Democratic terms — even as needs like school aid enjoy widespread support. Poisonous relationships among key leaders like Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Mark Mead ows give little reason for confi dence about overcoming obstacles on the cost, scope and details of a potential relief bill. Pelosi recently referred to Meadows as “whatever his name is,” while the Meadows-run White House during a press briefing ran a video loop of Pelosi’s controversial visit to a San Francisco hair salon. Postal chief under fire over alleged campaign law violations BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON — Post master General Louis DeJoy is facing increased scrutiny as House Demo crats investigate allegations that he encouraged employees at his former business to contribute to Republican can didates and then reimbursed them in the guise of bonuses, a viola tion of campaign finance laws. Five people who worked for DeJoy’s former company, New Breed Logis tics, say they were urged by DeJoy’s aides or by DeJoy himself to write checks and attend fundraisers at his mansion in Greensboro, North Carolina, The Wash ington Post reported. Two former employees told the newspaper that DeJoy would later give bigger bonuses to reimburse for the contributions. DeJoy was already under fire amid allegations that operational changes he made since taking the postal job in June have delayed mail, sparking concern over the agency’s ability to process a flood of mail-in bal lots expected this fall due to coronavirus fears. The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed DeJoy for records about wide spread delays that have pushed the Postal Service into the political spotlight. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the oversight panel, said in a statement Tuesday that if the alle gations about campaign finance violations are true, “DeJoy could face criminal exposure — not only for his actions in North Carolina, but also for lying to our Committee under oath.” She was referring to DeJoy’s testimony before her committee last month, when he forcefully denied he had repaid executives for contributing to Trump’s campaign. Campaign finance dis closures show that between 2000 and 2014, when New Breed was sold, more than 100 employees donated over $610,000 to Republi can candidates that DeJoy and his family supported. The figure excludes more than $1 million that DeJoy and family members gave to Republican politicians. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is fac ing a tough reelection race this year, was a top recipi ent, collecting more than $190,000 from over 35 com pany workers ahead of his 2014 election, records show. The contributions were all made during a short win dow of time, between the end of September and the first week of October. Former N.C. Sen. Eliza beth Dole collected over $88,000 from New Breed employees between 2002 and her losing 2008 reelec tion bid, records show. GOP presidential candi dates Mitt Romney, John McCain, George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani all col lected tens of thousands more from New Breed employees during their campaigns, records show. It’s not illegal to encour age employees to contrib ute to candidates, but it is illegal to reimburse them as a way of avoiding fed eral campaign contribution limits. Maloney, a New York Democrat, urged the Postal Service Board of Governors to immediately suspend DeJoy, whom she said “they never should have selected in the first place.” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also urged DeJoy’s suspension, saying Americans had lost faith in him. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., who asked DeJoy about employee contribu tions at an Aug. 24 hearing, said reimbursing workers for making political contri butions “softens the coer cion, but it’s still coercion. No oligarch or CEO should tell you how to vote or who you should give money to.” Cooper said Tuesday that he asked DeJoy about employee contributions after receiving a tip from someone in North Carolina, where DeJoy’s former com pany is based. “The tip fell on fertile ground,” he said, adding that lawmakers will likely issue subpoenas for top executives at the com pany and examine payroll records to determine if bonuses were paid, as the employees claim. DeJoy Sponsored by Northeast Georgia Health System HEALTHY AGING VIRTUAL EXPO To register to attend go to gainesvilletimes.com/healthyaging. UUe look forward to “seeing" everyone! 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