Second Stimulus Bill ‘Dead on Arrival,’ GOP Senators Say

Now that the House of Representatives has passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, a $3 trillion stimulus package, it will head to the Senate. But, according to various Senators in the Republican party, the bill will be “dead on arrival” when it makes its way to the Senate. In fact, many GOP lawmakers, from Sen. Lindsay Graham to President Donald Trump, have voiced their criticisms of the HEROES Act, which was pushed forward by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats.

According to ABC News, several Republicans have already spoken out against the HEROES Act, which was passed by the House on Friday. In particular, Sen. Graham told reporters that the bill will be “dead on arrival” when it comes to the Senate. He said that he is not supportive of the bill’s price tag (at $3 trillion, it would become the United States’ most expensive emergency measure bill if passed) nor is he a fan of some of the provisions that are included in the act. On Twitter, in a series of heated messages, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also expressed that he was not in support of the Heroes Act because of the provisions that were added to it. At one point, he even directly addressed Pelosi, claiming that the HEROES Act “still reads like the Speaker of the House pasted together random ideas from her most liberal members and slapped the word ‘coronavirus’ on top of it.”

Days before the bill was passed in the House, Trump was asked how he felt about it. On Wednesday, during a press conference with reporters and state governors, the president said that the bill would be “dead on arrival,” which is similar to what Graham had to say about it. He said, “Well as they say, DOA. Dead on arrival. Of course. Nancy Pelosi knows that, you know, obviously.”

The $3 trillion stimulus package that the House of Representatives passed on Friday would grant Americans an additional $1,200 check amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The act also fills in gaps left by the CARES Act, the previous $2 trillion stimulus package that the White House and Congress agreed to in late March. Unlike the CARES Act, the HEROES Act would entail that some immigrants and dependents aged 17 and older would receive payments. Given that there has been such vocal opposition to this plan, it’s unclear whether the HEROES Act will be able to garner the necessary bipartisan support in the Senate.