For crying out loud

People need money. Give them money. Corporations and wealthy pricks got a huge portion of the last multi-trillion dollar stimulus, and now Republicans don't want to pony up the money necessary to shore up the people who are going under because they DIDN'T get enough (or any).

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., signaled tacit support Wednesday for a $900 billion Covid-19 response package moving through Congress.

As congressional leaders continued to hammer out final details of the bill, Sanders said on the Senate floor that while the proposal falls well short of what he says is needed to respond to the crisis, he is pleased negotiators have decided to add direct payments for individuals.

“Ten days ago, nobody here was talking about the need for direct payments, help for working families, despite the fact that that is the issue, the program that the American people most wanted,” Sanders said.

“I’m happy to say that as of now — and we’re going to fight for more, because this process is not over — the proposal as I understand it provides for a direct payment of $600 for every working-class adult and $600 for their kids,” he said.

Well, maybe.

Reports also surfaced Wednesday that lawmakers had decided to add one-time checks of between $600 and $700 for American adults who qualify based on adjusted gross income.

The proposal is also expected to include enough for a $300-per-week federal unemployment benefit. However, the Washington Post reported that adding $600 stimulus checks will mean reducing unemployment insurance, probably by one month.

[...]

Sanders said the $600 payment is only half as big as the $1,200 he had pushed for in recent days and the amount included in the CARES Act.

[...]

Last week, Sanders and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., threatened to force a Senate vote on whether to approve $1,200 direct payments to Americans, saying they were prepared to tack it on as an amendment to a one-week stopgap spending bill to avert a federal government shutdown.

  

When Josh Hawley is doing the right thing by American citizens, and Republican Senators have to be threatened with being outed, you know things are dire.

The proposal is expected to include billions of dollars in aid for small businesses, unemployment benefits, vaccine distribution, and funding for schools and the transportation sector.

Yeah. Let's see who actually gets it.

“My hope, very sincere hope, is that when the Biden administration comes to office in late January, that their very first priority will be to address the deficiencies and the inadequacies in this bill,” Sanders said.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:  There's going to be a whole lot of Republicans crying about the deficit again all of a sudden.