For the second time this year, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) has voted to block consideration of a major coronavirus relief bill.
Jones on Thursday joined all of his fellow Senate Democrats in voting against invoking cloture on a targeted stimulus package that would have funded a $300 per person weekly federal supplemental to unemployment benefits. The $500 billion bill would have also funded more relief for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as well as additional money for coronavirus testing, vaccine deployment efforts and direct assistance to schools.
On Tuesday, Jones originally told reporters he was unable to say whether he supported the bill.
“I don’t know what’s in it, so I can’t say,” he said.
A day later, his answer went from being ignorant of the bill to simply being undecided.
“I’ve got mixed emotions,” Jones commented.
However, “mixed emotions” apparently subsided by the next day.
“I don’t take votes with politics in mind. I take votes with I’m thinking is the right thing to do and this bill is totally inadequate,” Alabama’s junior senator asserted on Thursday after the vote.
Senate Democrats for months have been holding out, reportedly refusing to even negotiate, in hopes of a much larger package that includes items completely unrelated to COVID-19, such as marijuana and environmental expenditures. The Democrats’ proposal also reportedly “omitted language restricting abortion funding [with federal monies] and added protections against deportation of illegal immigrants.”
Earlier in the week, Jones lamented that he and his Democratic colleagues may once again go home to their constituents not having passed much-needed relief.
“I may have to. I may have no choice. It’s not my choice,” Jones claimed.
Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-01) pushed back on this assertion in a Thursday tweet following the vote.
“Disappointed that Democrats again blocked a measured, responsible bill to address the ongoing challenges related to the coronavirus. Let’s be clear: Democrats don’t want a solution. They just want the issue to complain about to help them win elections,” Byrne said.
This is similar to a previous warning made in the summer by U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), who is widely considered one of the country’s foremost statesmen who generally stays away from partisan politicking.
RELATED: Shelby cautions on COVID-19 relief: ‘The Democrats might not want a deal, politically’
Jones’ Thursday vote was also swiftly met with political backlash.
“Once again, we are seeing anti-Trump Democrat Doug Jones side with his Democrat party bosses in blocking COVID relief despite touting bipartisanship on the campaign trail,” stated NRSC spokesperson Paige Lindgren. “This is just another example in which Jones chooses loyalty to Chuck Schumer and partisan politics over the needs of Alabama.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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