The House of Representatives voted to pass the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act on Friday, a $3 trillion stimulus package. The HEROES Act is expected to be “dead on arrival” once it reaches the senate, which has drawn the ire of former professional wrestler-turned-Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura. He took to social media to blast the hang-ups and said that the average American is suffering.
“Translation: it’s perfectly fine to give money and tax breaks to massive corporations that coincidentally fund political campaigns. The average American is suffering and will continue to suffer. We the People are not the priority,” Ventura tweeted on Saturday afternoon. He had reposted a news story from CNN about how Republicans and some Democrats were opposed to the HEROES Act and provided his opinion on why they wanted to shut down the stimulus package.
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“This is why we need someone like you, willing to stand up to both parties and the corporations, in office. Please #RunJesseRun #People4Jesse #NoTimeToBleed,” one of Ventura’s supporters wrote in response to his comments. There were several others that pleaded with him to run for president as part of the Green Party. Others simply said that he has a talent for “body-slamming corrupt” politicians.
According to a summary of the HEROES Act, the new bill includes: “nearly $1 trillion in relief for state and local governments; a second round of direct payments of $1,200 per person, and up to $6,000 for a household; about $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers; $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing; an extension of the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit through January; $175 billion in rent, mortgage and utility assistance; subsidies and a special Affordable Care Act enrollment period to people who lose their employer-sponsored health coverage. more money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including a 15% increase in the maximum benefit; measures designed to buoy small businesses and help them keep employees on payroll, such as $10 billion in emergency disaster assistance grants and a strengthened employee retention tax credit; money for election safety during the pandemic and provisions to make voting by mail easier; relief for the U.S. Postal Service.”
If passed, the HEROES Act would stand as the largest relief package in US history. However, this isn’t expected to happen in the near future. Both parties expressed opposition to the stimulus package, leading to a 208-199 vote. Following the approval by the House of Representatives, Senator Lindsay Graham, President Donald Trump several GOP lawmakers expressed their opposition. Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Ben McAdams of Utah, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Cindy Axne of Iowa, and Elaine Luria of Virginia also said that they opposed the proposed bill.
