CLEVELAND — Early Saturday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Although the bill passed by a slim Democratic majority, all 211 Republicans voted against the passage.
The bill, which includes $1400 checks to Americans making less than $75,000 a year, has become a hot-button issue among members of both parties since the November election, with many discussing the likelihood of partisanship prevailing.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is not shying away from that discussion.
During an appearance Sunday morning on Meet the Press, Sen. Brown talked with Chuck Todd about the current issues that Congress is facing when it comes to providing relief to Americans, and the problems with reaching common ground with the opposing side.
"It's become a Trump party, it's not a party of reason. It's a party that has turned its back," Brown said of the GOP.
Sen. Brown's comments both reflect upon one of the most recent votes in the Senate- the acquittal of former President Donald Trump, in which only seven Republican senators voted to convict- as well as fore-shadowing what many believe will be another partisan vote on the $1.9 trillion bill.
The Ohio-legislator also said on Sunday that current government processes are not working for the American people the way that they should, and that the GOP is, in fact, actively failing to help the U.S. citizens in need.
"Mitch McConnell all summer, in June, and July, August, September, October as thousands of people were starting to fall into poverty- after we did it right back in March- Mitch McConnell continued to say he sees no sense of urgency," Brown said Sunday morning. "So the Republicans failed. They failed for ten years. They failed to raise the minimum wage. They failed. They failed to provide the kind of help we need."
Brown also stated during the interview that it is Congress' job- as well as President Biden's- to "go big" for the American people, and to put money back into the pockets of those that support and stimulate the economy, justifying the major price-tag on the upcoming stimulus bill.
"To build democracy, to save democracy, government- we need to make government work."
Editor's note: the video in the player below is from a story published on Feb. 27, 2021.