With the latest COVID-19 stimulus bill (Heroes Act) having narrowly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, House Democrats are now urging Republicans in the Senate to pass the legislation so that those Americans in need of financial help, get it.
The original $3.4 trillion dollar bill was summarily rejected by Republicans, so Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats decided to negotiate with their counterparts and find some kind of middle ground so that Americans receive the much-needed bailout.
But while the new $2.2 trillion compromise bill stripped out a lot of the ‘goodies’ or non-COVID-related expenditures, it also gutted out $600 million in police funding.
Every single member of Florida’s Democratic congressional delegation, including Rep. Donna Shalala, voted in favor of the measure, and in essence, voted against funding police while still keeping politically motivated “wish list” items in place.
Rep. Shalala, who is entrenched in a very tight (Toss-up) re-election campaign against TV personality Maria Elvira Salazar, has very vocal in her demand to Republicans to support the original Heroes Act.
But in the days leading up to the vote on the COVID bill, Shalala was silent, only making reference to President and Frist Lady Donald Trump’s recent positive testing for COVID.19.
“The House passed the HEROES Act which gives money to state and local governments struggling because of the pandemic,” tweeted Shalala. Teachers, firefighters, police officers, municipal and state workers are all essential workers and we need to take care of them now!”
That was Shalala pushing the Covid-19 funding bill less than two weeks ago, before voting to in favor of the bill that gutted the $600 million for police.
Salazar called out Shalala over the police funding that she and fellow Democrats took out of the original language of the Heroes Act, telling The Floridian that the actions of House Democrats as being “partisan political games.”
“People in South Florida need real assistance not partisan political games.,” said Shalala. This bill Donna Shalala and her colleagues passed not only allows the release of criminals onto our streets but also cut $600 million in funding for law enforcement that was in their previous bill. Our community is hurting and deserves better than the games Washington politicians continue to play.”
President Donald Trump, who was recently tested positive for COVID-19, is said to be eager to sign another pandemic relief bill and is just waiting for Congress to present him a bill.
