Mucarsel-Powell says Democrats are not blocking COVID-19 funding

Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D) held a telecall press conference where she discussed advancements in the fight to combat the growing threat of COVID-19, and the negative effects it continues to have on Floridians.

Recently, $250 billion dollars in supplemental funding was blocked by Senate Democrats, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) commented that she will block any supplemental funding measure if certain conditions are not met.

When asked if she had spoken to Speaker Pelosi, if she knew what those conditions were and if she supported the move to block the supplemental funding, Rep. Mucarsel-Powell explained that she took part in “a Democratic conference call yesterday to talk about requests from the Senate Leader," adding that Senate Republicans "wanted to pass it through unanimous consent without absolutely any input.”

Mucarsel-Powell then said that Senate Republicans just wanted to sign a check for $250 billion dollars but that the problem that "right now (we) are getting calls from constituents,” saying that "they can’t access the $349 billion dollar loans because they’re disproportionately helping the larger businesses that are a little bit more savvy in being able to navigate the system.”

Rep. Mucarsel-Powell argued that what Democrats want is “more funding for small businesses," but that they want to be assured that the money  will "trickle down to the people that need them the most.”

Those businesses in question are “veteran-owned businesses, family-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses” she believes cannot be left behind.”

"Before we just sign a check – a $250 billion dollar check – we need to make sure that the process is in place to cover, more than anything, the family’s that are hurting the most," said Mucarsel-Powell before asserting that House Democrats were not "blocking" legislation.

"The situation is fluid, and we’re having discussions,” concluded Mucarsel-Powell.