Update (1600ET): Stocks tumbled into the bell after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) became the latest lawmaker to threaten to hold up the coronavirus stimulus package "until stronger conditions are imposed on the $500 billion corporate welfare fund." "Unless Senators Graham (R-SC), Sasse (R-NE) and Time Scott (R-SC) drop their anti-worker objections to fast-tracking the emergency coronavirus legislation, I am prepared to put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the $500 billion corporate welfare fund," Sanders said over Twitter.
Bernie Sanders ✔ @SenSanders
Unless Republican Senators drop their objections to the coronavirus legislation, I am prepared to put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the $500 billion corporate welfare fund.
Phil Mattingly ✔ @Phil_Mattingly
AOC warns she may force House members to return for stimulus vote, potentially delaying final passage, via @mkraju http://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-coronavirus-package-vote/index.html
Viraj Patel @VPatelFX
Bernie Sanders doing his best to claim the 2020 sell-off in stocks
Update (1415ET): GOP Senators have cautioned against fast-tracking the bull as it stands, which would "create a perverse incentive to sever the employer/employee relationship," according to a spokesman for Sen. Sasse (R-NE).
The Senators are working on an amendment which would ensure that the maximum unemployment benefit is 100% of someone's salary.
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First it was Nancy Pelosi 'rode into town from her extended vacation' to kill the GOP coronavirus bill.
Now, despite what we were told was a done dea, three Republican Senators have demanded an "immediate fix" to a drafting error in the bill which may delay its passage.
Sens. Scott (SC), Sasse(NE) and Graham (SC) wrote in a Wednesday letter:
"A massive drafting error in the current version of the coronavirus relief legislation could have devastating consequences: Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work. This isn't an abstract, philosophical point -- it's an immediate, real-world problem."
According to the Senators, "If the federal government accidentally incentivizes layoffs, we risk life-threatening shortages in sectors were doctors, nurses and cooks are trying to get food to families' tables."
Jennifer Shutt ✔ @JenniferShutt
Sens. Scott, Sasse and Graham "demand" a fix to the current version of the stimulus bill.
"Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work."
Poster Comment:
Donkeys will be donkeys.