Even though the Senate has passed the coronavirus stimulus bill, there may yet be another obstacle in the way.
In addition to Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI), Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is now threatening to hold up the legislation.
Too Tilted
Like Amash, AOC believes the package could be too tilted toward major corporations and not enough money for those she deems needing it the most.
She seems to not grasp the concept that without businesses, there are no jobs.
The freshman congresswoman had not yet read the bill when she made her comments, but she stated that if she did not like what she read, she may call for an actual vote in the House, which would delay the passage of the legislation by several days, at least.
She stated, “With the health risks of travel, there is no easy choice here.
“But essential workers are showing up and putting their health at risk every day, and if the final text of a bill is set up to hurt them, it may be something we have to do.”
The Power Grab
If AOC decides to call for an in-person vote, it would go directly against House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA).
Pelosi has already backed the legislation, be it tepidly, telling her fellow Democrats to embrace the good it would do.
If AOC goes against her wishes, it will be a clear act of defiance by AOC, and could possibly point to a changing of the guard after the next round of elections.
Democrats did manage to get some partisan legislation in there, concessions by Republicans to simply get the legislation passed.
The drafting error was not fixed, for one, which had several Republicans threatening to hold up the legislation.
However, after Trump went public backing the proposal, everyone seemed to back off.
Democrats were also able to get a union clause to prevent excessive layoffs and well as having the funding removed to top off the oil reserves while pricing is cheap.
Democrats saw this as a bailout of oil companies while President Trump just saw it as good business due to the fact it would save taxpayers billions of dollars when oil costs start to go back up.
This drama should play out throughout the day today and as long as AOC or Amash do not try to play hardball, the legislation should pass the House on Friday.
If either of them calls for a vote, we probably won’t see it passed until next week.
Source: CNN
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