Mar 14, 2020

UPDATED: Coronavirus: Only One Alabama NO Vote in U.S. House

     All but two of Alabama's seven members of the U.S. House voted (see note below) in favor of the Coronavirus Relief bill that The White House indicates the President will sign: Bradley Byrne (R-1st) voted no, and Mike Rogers (R-3rd) did not vote.

     The others voted for the measure, which passed 363-40.
     All of the no votes came from Republicans.
     The N.Y. Times reports:

"The measure includes two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave for Americans who work for businesses with less than 500 employees or the government and are infected by the virus, quarantined, have a sick family member or are impacted by school closures. The relief package also includes enhanced unemployment benefits, free virus testing for those who lack insurance, and additional food aid and federal funds for Medicaid."
UPDATE:
Rep./U.S. Senate candidate Bryne posted this statement on his website:


Congressman Byrne said: “Tonight, I was asked to vote on a 110 page bill that spends billions of dollars and contains numerous mandates on small businesses only 26 minutes after receiving the text.  Although I agree with many of the provisions in this legislation, this is no way to govern.  We should be sending a message of calm and steady leadership in the face of this crisis, not forcing through bills in the dead of night.  While it is critical that we continue to take actions to address the coronavirus, we should do it thoughtfully and responsibly.  For that reason, I reluctantly voted no.  I appreciate the Trump Administration working to greatly improve this bill over what was proposed by Speaker Pelosi.  I hope that the Senate next week will engage in the due diligence that House Democrats were unwilling to do.”
      
The N.Y. Times does have a firewall, but they are providing free access to their coronavirus stories HERE.

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