Today on CNN’s State of the Union, Republican Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) questioned the use of reconciliation to pass the popular American Rescue Plan even after he voted to use reconciliation to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas responded:
“Reconciliation wouldn’t be necessary if Republican senators like Rob Portman weren’t threatening to filibuster President Biden’s incredibly popular American Rescue Plan, blocking crucial funding to fix Trump’s disastrous vaccine distribution system and provide relief through direct checks for families, unemployment insurance, aid to small businesses and assistance to prevent layoffs of healthcare workers and teachers.
“His objections are especially rich given how Portman joined his Republican senate colleagues to use the same reconciliation process he’s now bashing to pass massive taxpayer funded giveaways to corporations that ship American jobs overseas and to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“Give us a break. Stop hiding behind arcane process arguments to say what you really mean: that American families and businesses should be on their own to deal with a pandemic that’s killed nearly 450,000 Americans and left tens of millions struggling to find work, put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.”
