While many questions have been raised about the possibility of a second coronavirus relief bill, at least one analyst says that Republicans will pass the bill anyway. The HEROES Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on Friday, meaning it needs to pass through the United States Senate next. In an article for Business Insider, David Plotz and Henry Blodget argue that the Republican-majority Senate will pass the bill eventually.
Plotz and Blodget argue that Republican lawmakers “have to grumble first” before passing another coronavirus relief package. The two analysts even believe that the Senate may pass the HEROES Act — a $3 trillion bill introduced by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi — but not without significant “compromise.” They describe Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a “poker player,” who is only pretending to oppose further relief efforts in the short term. Eventually, they believe, he and his party will relent.
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According to Plotz and Blodget, McConnell and other lawmakers in his “circle” have “derided” the HEROES Act “as a liberal wish list, and indicated that they’re in no rush to act. Still, the analysts say that Republicans in the senate, congress and all other levels of government need “a stabilized economy” to ensure re-election in November. By contrast, they say, Democrats would get a big electoral boost from “an economy in ruins.” Plotz and Blodget believe that Democrats are knowingly pushing for federal aid that would help Republicans in the election, and that Republicans will eventually give in to this view as well.
While many small government-advocates are weary of the huge relief packages proposed to help offset the damage of the coronavirus, economists have argued that a surge in government spending provides the best chance to prevent “a long-lasting depression.” On top of that, Plotz and Blodget point out that the Republicans are more likely to approve big federal spending when one of their party members is president, making concerns over the deficit a bluff.
Beyond all the political and economic considerations of another coronavirus relief bill, Plotz and Blodget argue that Democrats “ideologically believe in” the HEROES Act. As for Republicans, they say that the senate knows “they can’t survive the election without it. For the latest information on the coronavirus pandemic, visit the websites of the CDC and the World Health Organization.
