Both La. senators vote against coronavirus aid bill

U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, Louisiana Republicans, on Saturday voted against the Senate-passed legislation that includes a third coronavirus stimulus check and an extended federal unemployment enhancement.

Cassidy said Senate Democrats "rammed through a bill that wastes hundreds of billions of dollars on pet projects that have nothing to do with the pandemic and puts our economy at risk of inflation."

No other Republicans voted for the Senate version of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act Plan, which passed 50-49 under budget reconciliation rules. Before the act becomes law, the U.S. House must accept the changes in the Senate version.

The House-passed version includes a raise in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the Senate version doesn't. The House version called for a $400 weekly federal enhancement to state unemployment benefits, while the Senate-passed enhancement is $300 a week.

The Senate version includes

--A $1,400 stimulus check for qualifying individuals, or $2,800 for married couples who file joint federal income tax returns. Adult dependents may also receive $1,400 checks if they're otherwise eligible.

Individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, or married couples filing jointly with incomes of $150,000 or less, would get the full stimulus payment. The Senate version phases down the payments until taxpayers with incomes of over $80,000 individually and $160,000 for joint filers are no longer eligible.

The House version set upper income limits of $100,000 and $200,000.

The Census Bureau says that St. Mary had 7,517 married households, 3,837 single-parent households and 8,502 "nonfamily" households in 2019. If the family households are all eligible and at least one member of the nonfamily households is eligible, the newest stimulus checks would bring more than $38 million into the parish.

--The Senate’s bill will extend the federal unemployment enhancement of $300 per week through Sept. 6, and shield the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits in 2020 from federal income taxes. The House had passed a $400 enhancement lasting into August.

In December, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, 1,557 St. Mary residents were unemployed. If they're all eligible, the $300 enhancement would bring about $1.9 million into the parish each month.

--The act would provide $350 billion in assistance to state and local governments.

--K-12 schools would get $10 billion in aid.

--$14 billion is earmarked for COVID-19 vaccination.

--$12 billion would go to nutrition assistance.

--The child tax credit would be expanded by $300 per child 5 and under and $250 per child 6-17.

--$45 billion would go for mortgage, rental and utility assistance.

Democrats said a big stimulus measure is needed to get the economy moving. They cited statistics saying U.S. employment is down 9.5 million jobs from the days before the COVID pandemic.

Republicans argued that the economy is already showing signs of renewed vigor and that such a massive spending bill could be inflationary.

Cassidy criticized Senate Democrats for blocking amendments that would prohibit Economic Impact Payments from going to inmates in state or federal prisons and providing COVID aid to nonpublic schools.

Kennedy also blamed Democrats for blocking an amendment to keep Small Business Administration loans from going to people convicted of last summer's riots.

"Without order, there can be no justice," said a post on Kennedy's Facebook Page. "We shouldn’t take resources away from hardworking small biz owners and give them to criminals convicted of felony rioting. But Democrats just blocked my amendment to prevent SBA $ from going to criminal rioters. What’s wrong with the Left's priorities?"

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, voted against the COVID relief measure when it passed the House last month.

"I am a firm NO on this monstrosity of a bill. It is full of wasteful spending and liberal wish list items that have zero to do with COVID relief," Higgins said on his Facebook page.