Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told CNBC on Monday that the Republican Party is looking to create a bill for “recovery,” from the coronavirus pandemic, not another “stimulus” package.
Barrasso said that GOP senators want a plan that will “help people get back to work and kids get back to school,” and support testing, treatment and development of a vaccine to “help save lives.”
He also said that states and local governments should have “flexibility” in how they use aid that’s already been approved, and that Congress should end the $600 weekly benefit to unemployment, saying “that would be a heavy wet blanket on the economy,” if allowed to continue.
However, some Senate Republicans have signaled their unwillingness to approve another massive spending bill.
“I can see a scenario in which some Republicans say we don’t need another bill, or we don’t like what’s in another bill,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., according to The Wall Street Journal. “That will present the majority leader with a decision to make, whether he wants to split the Republican caucus and pass something with Democratic votes.”