Second Stimulus Check Update: McConnell Rejects New Bipartisan Coronavirus Relief Proposal

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday shot down a stimulus proposal a day after he urged Congress to pass “major” aid.

The proposal was unveiled during a Tuesday press conference by a bipartisan group of moderate senators, including Sens. Mark Warner, Susan Collins and Joe Manchin, in hopes of breaking the months-long stalemate in Congress, in order to provide millions of Americans with federal financial aid, Business Insider reported.

“Our action to provide emergency relief is needed now more than ever before,” Manchin said. “The people need to know we are not going to leave until we get something accomplished.”

The proposed $908 billion coronavirus relief plan included $300 weekly unemployment benefits that would begin Dec. 1 and last for 18 weeks; $240 billion of federal aid for small businesses; $160 billion for local and state governments; and $51 billion for coronavirus vaccine-related programs.

However, the compromise plan did not include provisions for another round of $1,200 stimulus checks for Americans.

McConnell presented his own “skinny economic relief package.” His framework included $300 billion for small businesses and $31 billion for vaccine distribution. But besides not including the $1,200 stimulus checks, it omitted provisions to revive the federal jobless payments and aid for local and state governments, The New York Times reported.

“We don’t have time for messaging games, we don’t have time for lengthy negotiations. The issue is, we want to get a result,” McConnell said at a weekly news conference. “I like to remind everybody that the way you get results is, you have to have a president’s signature.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska slammed McConnell’s scaled-back proposal, calling it “offensive” to millions of Americans affected by the coronavirus and the downfall of the U.S. economy. She urged her colleagues to consider the bipartisan’s $908 billion stimulus bill.

Federal programs from March’s CARES Act are set to expire by the end of the year, including an extension of unemployment insurance, a moratorium on student loan payments, and protection from eviction, CNBC reported.