The House of Representatives is slated to vote on Friday on the biggest relief package in U.S. history, which has dissent on all sides, according to CNN .
The stimulus package, named the HEROES Act , would again send payments to individuals across the nation who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new package would also follow the last stimulus bill’s footsteps and offer funding to state and local governments as well as hazard pay for essential workers.
Included in the package would be $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers, as well as another $1,200 for both adults and children up to $6,000 per household, for those who meet the income criteria.
Unlike its predecessor, however, this bill does not have bipartisan support in the House. Republicans consider the total to be an astronomical number and a price that taxpayers can’t afford to pay down the road, and even moderate Democrats have voiced concern about the package.
More progressives in the party don’t think it goes far enough to help Americans. House Democrats Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Ben McAdams of Utah, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, and Cindy Axne of Iowa have all opposed the bill, according to CNN , and House Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she will not vote to endorse it.
“I, unfortunately, will be voting no on the bill,” she said.
Jayapal’s frustration with the measure stemmed from the fact that it did not include the paycheck guarantee proposal, or the recurring monthly payments, that some progressives believed to be crucial.
WATCH: @RepDanKildee explains the $3 trillion coronavirus stimulus package the House is expected to vote on today in the face of opposition from House Republicans #nine2noon pic.twitter.com/WXa0xk8inZ
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House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi told her party on Thursday evening in no uncertain terms that she saw no reason to vote against the measure.
“If you vote against this and all this funding for your state, then you have to go home and defend it. And if you can defend that no vote, then you’re a better politician than me.”
Republicans have assured their constituents that the bill is nothing more than a Democratic wish list and that it will be immediately killed when it reaches the Senate floor.
The Inquisitr previously reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, is already speaking out against the bill.
“We now have a debt the size of our economy,” he pointed out. “So I’ve said, and the president has said as well, that we have to take a pause here and take a look at what we’ve done.”
Friday’s vote is expected to fall close to party lines, with some possible Democratic exceptions. If passed, the bill would then move on to the Senate.
