Rep. Dan Crenshaw slammed House Democratic leadership for caving to its caucus and delaying the next session of Congress indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The House was expected to reconvene on May 4, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) backtracked on Tuesday after members of his caucus expressed concern over the coronavirus outbreak. Democratic members reportedly complained to Hoyer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that returning to the Capitol may be “dangerous.”
“What blatant lack of leadership. What cowardice. Congress must come out of hiding,” Crenshaw (R-TX) tweeted on Tuesday. “We shouldn’t fly in every few weeks to pass massive spending bills. We should be discussing & debating solutions to problems facing our constituents.”
“Stop acting scared. Let’s get back to work,” the 36-year-old former Navy SEAL added.
What blatant lack of leadership. What cowardice. Congress must come out of hiding.
We shouldn’t fly in every few weeks to pass massive spending bills. We should be discussing & debating solutions to problems facing our constituents.
Stop acting scared. Let’s get back to work. https://t.co/coBn3SuaHA
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) April 28, 2020
Hoyer announced the decision in a press conference, saying that he made the decision after consulting with the House physician.
“The House doctor, when I talked to him yesterday, was concerned because the numbers in the District of Columbia are going up,” Hoyer said, according to Roll Call. “They’re not flat, and they’re not going down.”
“We will not come back next week, but we hope to come back very soon to consider the CARES 2 legislation,” Hoyer added, noting that the legislators needed more time to get the next round of emergency relief in order.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced on Monday that the upper chamber would stick to the May 4 date.
“Senators will return to Washington D.C. one week from today. We will modify routines in ways that are smart and safe, but we will honor our constitutional duty to the American people and conduct critical business in person,” McConnell said in a statement. “If it is essential for doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, truck drivers, grocery-store workers, and many other brave Americans to keep carefully manning their own duty stations, then it is essential for Senators to carefully man ours and support them.”
Economic damage from the coronavirus crisis and subsequent wide-spread lockdowns continues to build. Last week, the Labor Department announced that 4.4 million new unemployment claims had been filed, bringing the total number of claims since the start of the outbreak to roughly 26 million. Although the CARES 2 legislation is not finalized, lawmakers have hinted at what may be included in the eventual bill.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already signaled that there will be a partisan battle over the bill, which is expected to cst $1.1 trillion, and may include bailouts of state and local governments. McConnell has said he does not want to burden taxpayers with more debt if it could further imperil the shaky American economy, and the Senate Majority Leader has been adamant that he will not allow Republicans to support a bill that bails out state like Illinois, whose massive debt long predates the coronavirus lockdowns.
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