December 20, 2020, 10:25 am
It’s almost 2021, and Congress still hasn’t passed another COVID relief bill to help struggling Americans as the pandemic continues to cause strife across the country. The finger-pointing has been endless over recent months as to why a bill hasn’t been passed, but the bottom line is that Mitch McConnell continues striking down things that will benefit individuals and small businesses and insisting upon things that are in the best interest of corporations.
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The latest item to hit McConnell’s chopping block is apparently mandatory paid sick leave relating to COVID-19.
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As part of the legislation passed back in March, certain businesses were required to provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave for an employee who tested positive for COVID-19, two weeks if that employee had to take care of a relative who tested positive, and up to 10 weeks if parents needed to stay home to take care of children whose schools or daycares closed because of the virus. Businesses with fewer than 50 or more than 500 employees were exempt from these requirements.
According to BuzzFeed, some Republicans are on record as opposing an extension of this mandatory sick leave because state and local governments aren’t eligible for the federal tax credits that currently reimburse businesses for this paid leave. However, BuzzFeed points out, “Republicans are also blocking funding for state and local governments from being included in the bill.”
Prior to the mandate, 1 in 4 workers in the United States were not eligible for any sort of paid sick leave, per The Washington Post — a genuinely absurd number. There has been concern throughout the year that people who couldn’t afford to stay home because of low wages, high costs of living, and failure of employers to provide adequate benefits such as paid sick leave would ultimately end up going to work even after testing positive for COVID-19. A refusal to extend these requirements could exacerbate those concerns.
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However, Democrats have repeatedly been forced to compromise on the things McConnell and his fellow Republicans want, in order for any sort of new round of COVID relief to be passed before year end.
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A recent agreement that has yet to be finalized “rescinds more than $429 billion in unused CARES Act funds; definitively ends the CARES Act lending facilities by Dec 31, 2020, stops these facilities from being restarted, and forbids them from being duplicated without congressional approval,” a spokesperson for Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey told CNBC.
What’s left is $600 in direct payments, a small bonus sum for those who remain unemployed, and some funding for small business. The details have yet to be released, but the bill is expected to carry a $900 billion price tag. Extending the paid sick leave program for six months would have only cost around $13 billion. Instead, we get to wait around to find out just how many churches, corporations, and wealthy people benefit from this latest round of “relief” while average Americans continue to struggle.
*First Published: December 20, 2020, 10:25 am
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