GOP virus relief bill slashes unemployment but spends billions on military planes

By Emily Singer -July 28, 2020 9:34 AM

The bill Mitch McConnell released added billions to acquire new fighter jets and military ships, as well as funding for a new FBI headquarters.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the GOP's coronavirus relief bill, which would slash unemployment benefits to millions of laid-off workers by two-thirds but adds billions in unrelated spending, including nearly $30 billion in additional military spending.

The bill would cut weekly unemployment insurance to the more than 30 million laid-off workers from $600 per week to $200 per week — which economists say could lead to more hardship for tens of millions of jobless Americans.

But it adds another $29.4 billion for Defense Department spending, according to a summary of the bill from Senate Finance Committee Chair Richard Shelby. That includes at least $7 billion for military equipment, including fighter jets and military ships, according to Congressional Quarterly's John M. Donnelly.

Also included in the bill is an additional tax deduction for businesses for meal and entertainment costs that economists say will not help the struggling economy, as well as $1.75 billion to build a new FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. — a project Donald Trump has been pushing for, the Washington Post reported.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

https://americanindependent.com/gop-coronavirus-relief-bill-military-spending-unemployment-benefits-mitch-mcconnell-covid-19/

Same shit from libertarians just a different year............... they can go pound sand.............