U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8) is the latest House Democrat to attack President Donald Trump (R) over his COVID-19 relief package, imploring him to “stop the charade of half-hearted executive orders.”
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It is disappointing that the president would abandon any real effort to pass meaningful coronavirus relief legislation and instead attempt to bypass Congress by issuing an executive order,” Sires said in a statement this afternoon.
“The president’s executive order illustrates that he clearly does not grasp the seriousness of the situation many families across the country are dealing with. His executive order does nothing to help Americans pay their rent, and provides no relief for our brave firefighters, EMS, and first responders.”
The congressman continued that he was disappointment no relief would be issued for state and municipal governments, as well as that no resources will be allocated to coronavirus testing and tracing.
Yesterday, Trump issued four different directive, which in short, will extend unemployment benefits at $400 per week, provide a payroll tax holiday for anyone who earns less than $100,000 a year, an eviction moratorium, and defer student loan payments until the end of 2020.
Shortly after his primary victory last month, Sires told HCV that he remained optimistic that there could be a compromise version of the HEROES Act, which stands for Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions.
While the House approved the bill on May 15th, negotiations finally hit a stand still after House, Senate, and White House representatives couldn’t come to terms on Friday, prompting Trump to announce his relief plans yesterday.
“Almost three months ago, the House Passed the Heroes Act, which provides real, comprehensive relief to millions of Americans and their families by placing a longer moratorium on evictions, getting plans in place to help reopen schools, providing assistance to our first responders, and allocating resources for effective contact tracing and COVID testing,” Sires argued.
“We have made good faith efforts in the House to craft legislation that will relieve Americans of the burden they now face due to the virus. I urge the president and my colleagues in the Senate to get serious about providing relief to the country, and to stop the charade of half-hearted executive orders, which do nothing to solve the problem we currently face.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell are a few other federal lawmaker that have already spoken out against Trump’s executive measures.
