California Rep. Ro Khanna, a vice chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, questioned why Democrats would give any more money to the Defense Department after it used previous relief funds “to funnel extra money to their defense contractors.”
The May bill did not give the Pentagon any money and Khanna tweeted that it “shouldn’t get another penny” until it provides Congress answers on use of the earlier aid.
The new bill would provide the Pentagon with $2.4 billion, including $1.4 billion to cover salaries and expenses for 55,000 military base employees, including child care workers and food service operators. The remainder would be for expenses such as personal protective equipment and drugs to help ward off COVID-19.
Rank-and-file pressure
If Democratic leaders decide to bring the bill to the floor in the absence of a bipartisan agreement, it could take some whipping to get enough Democrats on board with passing it. The caucus is expected to discuss the bill during its weekly conference call Wednesday morning.
But a vote appears likely amid pressure from more moderate members of the caucus to do something before the election. “We look forward to reviewing the package’s provisions and are eager to reach a deal that gets relief and resources to those in need,” Washington’s Derek Kilmer, chairman of the New Democrat Coalition, said in a statement.
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September 30, 2020 at 06:59AM
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State, local aid the chief flashpoint in coronavirus relief bill talks - Roll Call
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