WASHINGTON — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she is hopeful Congress will pass a piece of bipartisan legislation to provide economic relief to small businesses and American workers impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, Capito said lawmakers are close to finalizing a deal on a stimulus package that previously has been blocked twice by Democrats.
“Today is the day — yesterday could have been the day — but today is the today because I’m an optimist and I’m always looking forward,” she said. “Today is the day we come together and take bold action for the American people. I know that’s what Americans want and I know that’s what my West Virginians want.”
The bill has been delayed by lawmakers looking to score “political points,” Capito said.
“What we don’t want is to use a crisis to advance a partisan or ideological agenda, which we’ve seen,” she said.
She has been “frustrated” with the delay on the bill because it means a delay in care for American citizens, Capito said.
“Care has been delayed when Americans need it most — both economic and health care,” she said.
West Virginians are concerned with the integrity of their health care system, Capito said.
“My West Virginians, they want to make sure that our hospitals, our community health centers and other providers, our nursing homes and extended care facilities have the resources they need to provide the best coverage.”
The bill is known as the “CARES Act,” Capito said.
“Because it takes care of a lot of priorities and issues that we’ve been talking about or that we hear about during our tele-town halls or talking to our neighbors and talking to constituents,” she said. “It is the urgency of not now but yesterday.”
The official name of the act is the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.