The US Senate is about to begin debating the fifth coronavirus relief package, which will likely come with a trillion-dollar price tag. Senator John Kennedy expects there will be additional help for unemployment compensation, but it will not be at the same $600 per week level that it has been at.
“The Congressional Budget Office has done an analysis for us and has found that 80% of the people who are drawing unemployment right now are making more on unemployment than what they made at their job,” said Kennedy.
Not all Republican lawmakers are in agreement with the latest relief effort as some feel the cost is too much with a national debt that continues to climb.
Kennedy anticipates there will also be additional money for helping reopen K-12 schools in a safe manner, but he doesn’t believe students should be forced back into the classroom.
“A lot of parents are scared about sending their child back to school. If you don’t want to send your child back to school, you shouldn’t, and you shouldn’t be forced to and I don’t believe you will be forced to,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy is pushing a measure for local and state governments who have previously money in past coronavirus relief bills, to have more autonomy with how that money is spent, including use for operating expenses not linked to COVID-19.
“My bill would give states and local governments more flexibility in how they spend that money. I think that portion of the bill will get 90-plus votes,” said Kennedy.
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