In an interview with Chris Ryan, Senator Jeanne Shaheen responds to Senator Mitch McConnell’s criticism of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for COVID relief, discusses how the Rescue Plan will help families, evaluates the level of bipartisan participation in the latest stimulus bill, assesses President Biden’s handling of the COVID pandemic during his first 50 days in office, and explains why she voted against the $15 per hour minimum wage in the COVID relief package.
Senator Shaheen takes issue with comments by former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who stated that the recently passed American Rescue Plan will do little to stimulate the economy. The Senator defends $1.9 stimulus package because it will help individuals and small businesses which have been hurt by the pandemic and it will speed up the distribution of vaccinations.
When asked about the approximately $1 trillion which does not go towards COVID relief, Senator Shaheen said, “We can nibble around the edges, but the fact is it’s going to provide critical vaccine help for states across this country, including New Hampshire.” She went on to describe how this bill will help working families by giving subsidies for health insurance, help in reopening schools and childcare programs, and extends unemployment benefits until September.
No Republican Senators voted for the American Rescue Plan, but Senator Shaheen points out that there were Republican amendments which put into the bill and that there is broad bipartisan support throughout the country for this needed legislation. In the final analysis, the Senator felt that it was more important to get help out to the American people than to get Republican support for the bill.
Senator Shaheen applauds President Biden’s leadership in fighting the pandemic. She gives the President kudos for increasing vaccination production and distribution and his support for the COVID relief package which will provide needed assistance to people affected by the pandemic.
In the last part of the interview, Senator Shaheen explains why she did not vote for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour as part of the American Rescue Plan. The Senator is in favor of raising the minimum wage. However, she didn’t think that this bill was the right way to do it. She has concerns about providing safeguards for industries which operate on very small profit margins before raising the minimum wage so high that employers can’t do business.