The Los Angeles Post

COME BACK TO DC

by ·

A coalition of left-leaning advocacy groups called on the Senate Friday to return from its July recess to vote on legislation to increase election funding during the coronavirus pandemic.

The more than two dozen groups, led by advocacy organization Stand Up America, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other GOP leaders asking that the Senate immediately be called back to Washington, D.C., to vote on and pass legislation allocating $3.6 billion to states to help with election challenges during the pandemic.

These funds were included in the House-passed HEROES Act, a Democratic-backed coronavirus stimulus package that McConnell has blocked in the Senate, describing the bill as a “liberal wish list.”

“With over 130,000 Americans dead and cases surging across the country, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic should be the Senate’s top priority,” the groups wrote. “Yet, the Senate has willfully failed to act under your leadership and remains in recess despite the urgent need to address the worsening pandemic and safeguard our rapidly-approaching elections.”

Other advocacy groups that signed on included Greenpeace USA, Color of Change, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and UnidosUS, among others.

The Senate is currently scheduled to be out through July 17.

McConnell laid out plans earlier this week for what will be included in the next Senate coronavirus stimulus package, including potential direct payments to Americans, but has not yet publicly said whether he will support election funding. McConnell previously blocked legislation on election security, but did back millions in election security funds sent to states over the past two years.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the chairman of the elections-focused Senate Rules Committee, announced Friday that his committee would hold a hearing on election concerns on July 22, which will feature the testimony of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) and West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner (R).