The House-passed coronavirus relief bill still contains several issues that will make it hurt rather than help the nation's businesses, Rep. Michael Waltz told Newsmax TV Monday, explaining why he did not vote for the measure.
"It mandates that everyone that is employed for businesses to be paid for 2 weeks of family leave, in addition to whatever other vacation they have," the Florida Republican told Newsmax TV's "Spicer & Co." "A vast majority of businesses can't carry that payroll. They're going to have to lay people off. We don't need that mandated from the federal government."
Waltz said when the bill was first introduced by Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, "it was terrible," because it "had things like taxpayer-funded abortions and other things that the left has been trying to slip in and, they were frankly taking advantage of a crisis."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with others "got it to a better place," said Waltz, but it's still not to the point that it will help businesses.
The House bill, as it stands, is backed by the White House. It requires paid sick leave for some workers, expanded unemployment compensation, and another $1 billion to help feed children, homebound senior citizens, and others.
Instead, businesses need no-interest loans, a payroll tax holiday, and a tax break that would end directly in the pockets of people who are affected, said Waltz.
As a Green Beret who remains in the National Guard, Waltz also commented on calls from several people such as New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo to bring the military in to help states with the response to the coronavirus situation and said he doesn't think it would be good to take a "heavy-handed, sledgehammer" approach to every situation.
"Things will be handled differently in Florida or downtown LA than in Montana," said Waltz. "Let the governors handle it and if we need troops to supplement it, that's where the federal government comes in."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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