“Skinny” GOP Stimulus Relief Bill Fails to Pass in Senate Vote

Yesterday, the Senate once again again failed to pass the latest coronavirus relief bill. The new GOP-proposed “Skinny” bill was estimated to cost between $500 to $700 billion. This is less expensive than their previous $1.3 trillion proposed bill and significantly cheaper than the democrats $2 trillion plan. This latest bill would have provided $300 weekly payments in federal unemployment through late December, $10 billion loan forgiveness for the USPS, relief for small businesses, and over $100 billion for schools. It did not include another round of direct stimulus payments or funding for struggling state and local governments. In a 52-47 vote, the plan did not meet the 60-vote threshold and was therefore shot down. Those who voted against it included every Democratic senator as well as Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul. Relief negotiations have now been in a stalemate for over a month and there appears to be no viable legislation on the horizon.