By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – While Democrats and Republics remain locked on a second Coronavirus relief bill, an Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator says the next bill relies on bi-partisan effort.
Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said if a relief bill does not come soon, local governments will have to make cuts to the public safety and public health sectors.
“We also have a lot of small businesses come back to me and say ‘Senator we’re not going to survive. Thank you for the original loan; it helped us keep things together. We thought in six months we’d see the pipe burning.’ That’s not the case. We’re anticipating sadly when the weather turns and the regular flu season comes on top of this, Coronavirus things could get worse. I hope they don’t, but they could. I think we definitely need a new relief bill.”
“What you need to do is to sit down and say ‘what are your priorities. Here are our priorities; now, let’s meet somewhere in the middle.’ We did that on March 26 and passed it 96-0. But, this take it or leave it, my way or the highway it just doesn’t work,” Sen. Durbin said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “He won’t attend the negotiations. Personally, he says he’s ‘bored with them,’ or he’s troubled by them whatever. We’ve got to sit down at the same table. It worked before. At this moment really, the White House has to decide whether it’s important to the President. If it is, he can convince McConnell to come to the negotiating table.”
LISTEN: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller about a second COVID-19 relief bill, COVID-19 vaccines and mail-in voting.
Last week, Democrats blocked a $300 billion COVID-19 relief bill in the Senate.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
