Democrats are still seeking three key elements for another coronavirus relief bill, but delaying an agreement will just drive the costs up for the United States, which was saved from being in a “second Great Depression” because of the CARES Act six months ago, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Monday.
“We have an imminent collapse coming in terms of the rental markets, so I support money for renters and landlords.,” Coons told CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” pointing out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has come down by $1 trillion from the House bill. Without legislation, the United States could face several years of financial trouble, he added, pointing to the recession in 2008 and 2009.
“The financial crisis turned into several years of people losing their homes, losing their businesses,” Coons said. “All of us who come to Washington do so because we want to make a difference and making a difference is the art of compromise. My hope is that we can do this now, because the cost to the American people is just going to get greater the longer we put it off.”
Coons also pointed out “there have been a million and a half people laid off. [They are] laying off police officers, firefighters, nurses from public employment in the middle of this.”
Meanwhile, Coons said it is important for Americans to hear questions being asked of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett about her publicly stated views.
“I’ll remind you, 100 million Americans have preexisting conditions,” Coons said. “There’s no replacement plan to me to strip away healthcare and health protections from a majority of Americans in the middle of a pandemic.”
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