WASHINGTON, D.C.861,000 more workers filed for unemployment last week, joining the over 18.3 million Americans looking for work in the Trump recession. While the need for substantial pandemic aid for struggling families, small businesses and states is undeniable and urgent, Senate Republicans are digging in their heels against the Biden American Rescue Plan that is overwhelmingly supported by American families and that leading economists agree would put economy on the road to recovery. 

“Perhaps there’s a correlation between Senate Republicans’ insistence for as little pandemic aid as possible and their shrinking support,” said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Accountable.US. “We tried it their way under Trump and all they have to show for it is widespread joblessness, hunger and debt. Deliberately slow walking and shortchanging aid for Americans held back by the health crisis is nothing short of economic sabotage. This isn’t hard: putting more money in the hands of workers to spend on goods and services is one of the fastest and most effective ways of creating jobs.”  

Blocking Real Relief = Economic Sabotage: Analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, the Brookings Institute and others found the economy will continue to drag without another major pandemic relief package. Moody’s Analytics chief economist and former top McCain economic adviser Mark Zandi estimates the Biden rescue plan, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks, would restore pandemic job losses by the fall of next year.  

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