Rep. Thomas Massie: Nancy Pelosi Should Allow Remote Vote on Coronavirus Stimulus

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie (R) said Wednesday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should allow a remote vote on the next coronavirus relief measure in order to prevent his call for lawmakers to return to Washington for a possible vote Friday.

Massie spoke with Fox Business News’s Your World host Neil Cavuto about the next emergency relief bill that would provide at least $250 billion more in additional small business assistance.

“What do you call a loan program when you expect 100 percent of the recipients to default?” Massie asked Cavuto.

The Kentucky libertarian acknowledged in March he “caught a little heat” from both President Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues when Congress passed the $2 trillion coronavirus relief measure.

Massie held to the fact that “the Constitution requires at least half the congressmen to vote on it, and explained his position on the prior relief bill on Twitter:

Massie continued his discussion with Cavuto:

But with the new discussion of this next bill, once again, they are recommending that just let Nancy Pelosi pass it on her own, that we can all stay home.

I’m saying that’s not going to fly, it doesn’t fly with the Constitution, doesn’t fly with accountability to the taxpayers.

The congressman said he is recommending that Pelosi enable remote voting.

As for the measure itself, Massie said as long as the government is “giving away free money, there’s going to be no lack of demand for that”:

What the government needs to do is allow people to go back to work. I’m against the bill, but the main thing that I’m against is letting Nancy Pelosi do it in the House on her own without members being accountable. The Constitution requires at least half of them vote on this. So, let’s enable remote voting.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is pushing for the additional small business funding, considered a “paycheck protection” measure, to be passed with unanimous consent. On Thursday, however, Senate Democrats blocked the effort, seeking add-ons to the bill.