US Senate Kills Republicans’ ‘Skinny’ Coronavirus Aid Bill

The U.S. Senate on Thursday killed a Republican bill that would have provided around $300 billion in new coronavirus aid, as Democrats seeking far more funding prevented it from advancing.

By a vote of 52-47, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed in the 100-member chamber to advance the partisan bill toward passage.

Senator Rand Paul, who opposed the deficit spending in the bill, was the lone Republican to vote no.

Democratic leaders in 🏛️Congress have been pushing for a far more vigorous response – around $3 trillion in new aid amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They said they still held out hope for negotiations to produce a compromise, but some senators expressed doubts that would happen before the Nov. 3 presidential and congressional elections.

So far, the coronavirus has led to the deaths of nearly 191,000 people in the United States and over 900,000 globally.

🏛️Congress is now expected to mainly focus on work on other pressing legislation so members can return to their home states in October to campaign for re-election.

Earlier this year, 🏛️Congress quickly passed four major bills providing about $3 trillion to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill in May that would provide another $3 trillion in aid, but gridlock has since prevailed.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Patricia Zengerle and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)