WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the below statement after voting to advance the Republicans COVID-19 targeted relief package:
“From the start of this pandemic, I’ve been in touch daily with West Virginians that still need help due to the challenges presented by COVID-19. We had an opportunity to really deliver on this help today. Unfortunately, the Senate failed. I am extremely disappointed that some of my colleagues are letting politics stand in the way of delivering much-needed relief to struggling Americans. Thousands of Americans are sick, our medical professionals continue to work around-the-clock to care for patients, workers are unable to return to work or have been laid off, and small businesses are struggling to weather this pandemic.
“While this package does not have everything, it has relief for the areas we can all agree on at this point. It includes resources for schools to reopen, childcare so our young families can get back to work, vaccine testing, small business assistance, an unemployment extension that so many families are relying on because they cannot get back to work, and more. We all agree on these issues—Republicans and Democrats. Let me be clear: had today’s vote passed, we would have moved forward with a package that provides significant relief funds and relief for families, medical providers, small businesses, workers, and more. The goal is to find agreement where we can and deliver this immediate relief to Americans who need it now, and that’s what this package would have accomplished. I will continue working toward a bipartisan agreement that will allow us to pass similar legislation soon, and I urge my colleagues to put politics aside and do the same.”
Had today’s motion passed, the Senate would have been able to move forward with legislation to provide:
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