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Right-wing groups took millions in pandemic aid -- and spent millions lobbying for unemployment cuts
https://www.salon.com/2020/08/07/right-wing-groups-took-millions-in-pandemic-aid--and-spent-millions-lobbying-for-unemployment-cuts/Conservative groups whose board members have taken in tens of millions in coronavirus relief from Congress have spent millions to lobby lawmakers to cut aid for unemployed workers.
Negotiations over the next phase of much-needed coronavirus relief have stalled, largely because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans have insisted on cutting the federal unemployment benefit created under the CARES Act in March from $600 per week to around $200 — based on a widely-debunked premise that it keeps workers from returning to their jobs.
Just three months ahead of a national election, Republicans inexplicably let the federal unemployment benefit expire last week despite research showing that any significant lapse or cut would devastate the economy.
These negotiations have been driven by a lobbying frenzy, The New York Times reported, and many of the board members of the groups urging Congress to drastically slash the unemployment benefit — such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Club for Growth — have themselves benefited greatly from the CARES Act.
"The 'stimulus for me, but not for thee' pleas from wealthy and well-connected right-wing special interests would be laughable if Senate Republicans weren't marching in lockstep," Kyle Herrig, the president of the progressive government watchdog group Accountable.US, told Salon. "McConnell and his allies are mulling drastic cuts to unemployment benefits that will leave struggling workers with even less money to feed their families and avoid eviction. They know but don't care that amid the worsening health crisis, millions more people are out of work than there are jobs available. Cutting benefits for families in need won't make jobs magically reappear."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business group that has been blamed for making the pandemic "worse" by opposing government efforts to fight the coronavirus, has been a leading opponent of federal unemployment benefits.
Negotiations over the next phase of much-needed coronavirus relief have stalled, largely because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans have insisted on cutting the federal unemployment benefit created under the CARES Act in March from $600 per week to around $200 — based on a widely-debunked premise that it keeps workers from returning to their jobs.
Just three months ahead of a national election, Republicans inexplicably let the federal unemployment benefit expire last week despite research showing that any significant lapse or cut would devastate the economy.
These negotiations have been driven by a lobbying frenzy, The New York Times reported, and many of the board members of the groups urging Congress to drastically slash the unemployment benefit — such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Club for Growth — have themselves benefited greatly from the CARES Act.
"The 'stimulus for me, but not for thee' pleas from wealthy and well-connected right-wing special interests would be laughable if Senate Republicans weren't marching in lockstep," Kyle Herrig, the president of the progressive government watchdog group Accountable.US, told Salon. "McConnell and his allies are mulling drastic cuts to unemployment benefits that will leave struggling workers with even less money to feed their families and avoid eviction. They know but don't care that amid the worsening health crisis, millions more people are out of work than there are jobs available. Cutting benefits for families in need won't make jobs magically reappear."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business group that has been blamed for making the pandemic "worse" by opposing government efforts to fight the coronavirus, has been a leading opponent of federal unemployment benefits.
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