Dem Rep. Demings on GOP Coronavirus Relief Bill: Americans ‘Deserve More than the Crumbs from the Table’

Representative Val Demings (D-FL) criticized the Republican coronavirus stimulus bill during Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Demings said, “None of us planned COVID-19 but our response to it makes all the difference in the world. We thought we would be out of this by now. We are not. The American people are suffering through no fault of their own. We know the numbers in terms of those who have contracted the virus, those who have died from the virus, millions of people are out of work. We’re afraid to send our children back to school and back to university. So why are we always —or the GOP, quite frankly, always pushing to offer the American people the crumbs from the table? We need to give them relief that really helps them to carry on their word about being able to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. We need to pass a meaningful bill. And, quite frankly, if the GOP is interested in helping American families, We need to pass a meaningful bill. If the GOP is interested in helping American families, the HEROES Act is sitting right there. Take it for an up or down vote.”

Anchor Jake Tapper asked, “But, congresswoman, with all due respect, Democrats control the House. You don’t control the Senate. You don’t control the White House. You need to compromise. Isn’t something, even the slimmed-down Senate bill, isn’t something better than nothing? That’s what the American people have now, nothing.”

Demings responded, “I say the American people deserve more than the crumbs from the table. And, quite frankly, our leadership has been there, as you well know, for weeks negotiating. There has been movement on our side. But the Republicans have, quite frankly, been ridiculous in their negotiations.”

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