Sputnik News – The US Senate on Thursday failed to advance a $500 billion Republican bill to provide modest relief in response to health and economic hardship caused by the six-month long coronavirus pandemic after their Democrat rivals mustered enough votes to block the legislation.
The Senate voted 52-47 largely along party lines against the legislation, which was already unlikely to win the support of the Democrat-majority House.
Democrats say the bill does not do enough to meet key priorities, such as aid for state and local governments and additional federal unemployment benefits.
House Democrats in May passed a $3.5 trillion relief package, but that legislation has not gained the support of the Republican-majority Senate.
Previous bipartisan efforts have helped US lawmakers pass four phases of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that have approved roughly $2.2 trillion to be disbursed as loans and grants to businesses, paycheck protection for workers and personal aid to qualifying Americans.
Both Democrats and Republicans have blamed each other for the drag over the fifth instalment of the act, with Trump’s rivals wanting a package worth around $2 trillion versus the about $500 billion that Republicans are targeting.
