Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) wave to the crowd at a campaign event on December 21, 2020 in Milton, Georgia. (Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
Perdue and Loeffler Silent on $2,000 Checks While Praising Trump for 'Leadership' on Covid Relief
"Loeffler and Perdue still won't support direct $2,000 checks to Georgia working families."
Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler late Sunday issued a joint statement praising President Donald Trump for signing into law a $900 billion coronavirus relief measure, declaring that additional economic help is now "on its way."
Notably absent from the Georgia Republicans' statement, however, was any mention of the outgoing president's demand for $2,000 direct payments to struggling Americans--a call that Perdue and Loeffler's Senate runoff opponents, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, have embraced and echoed.
"Trump's 'leadership' just cost hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia a week of unemployment benefits that they won't get back."
-- Working Families Party
Perdue and Loeffler said in their statement that they "look forward to continuing to fight alongside the president in his relentless pursuit to keep America great," remarks that came just after Trump signed the bipartisan relief bill Sunday night following nearly a week of needless and harmful delay.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Monday, the president's belated signing of the bill will likely cost millions of Americans a full week of unemployment benefits. That possibility also went unmentioned by Perdue and Loeffler, who used their statement to applaud Trump's "leadership" and claim that Democrats are "hellbent on a socialist agenda that prioritizes wasteful, irresponsible spending."
The Working Families Party (WFP) tweeted in response to the Republican senators' statement that "Trump's 'leadership' just cost hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia a week of unemployment benefits that they won't get back."
"Loeffler and Perdue still won't support direct $2,000 checks to Georgia working families," WFP added.
Trump's last-minute attack on the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill, which he called a "disgrace," put the Georgia Republicans in a difficult spot, given that the senators celebrated the agreement on the campaign trail and touted their yes votes in advertisements released just before the president trashed the deal.
Neither Perdue nor Loeffler has publicly voiced support for stand-alone legislation that would boost the direct payments in the new relief law from $600 to $2,000. With the Democratic legislation set to receive a vote in the House on Monday, Perdue has been silent about the proposed payments while Loeffler has said that she would "look at" supporting the larger checks if Congress "repurposes wasteful spending toward that."
Ossoff, who is taking on Perdue on January 5, noted on Twitter that the Georgia incumbent "didn't even want the first round of stimulus checks," referring to the $1,200 payments provided under the CARES Act.
Warnock, vying to unseat Loeffler, declared Sunday that Senate Republicans are "the only reason Georgians won't receive a $2,000 relief check."
"Trump agreed. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate agreed. But Loeffler and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell refused. After blocking relief for nine months," Warnock tweeted. "When we win, we'll get families the help they need."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler late Sunday issued a joint statement praising President Donald Trump for signing into law a $900 billion coronavirus relief measure, declaring that additional economic help is now "on its way."
Notably absent from the Georgia Republicans' statement, however, was any mention of the outgoing president's demand for $2,000 direct payments to struggling Americans--a call that Perdue and Loeffler's Senate runoff opponents, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, have embraced and echoed.
"Trump's 'leadership' just cost hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia a week of unemployment benefits that they won't get back."
-- Working Families Party
Perdue and Loeffler said in their statement that they "look forward to continuing to fight alongside the president in his relentless pursuit to keep America great," remarks that came just after Trump signed the bipartisan relief bill Sunday night following nearly a week of needless and harmful delay.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Monday, the president's belated signing of the bill will likely cost millions of Americans a full week of unemployment benefits. That possibility also went unmentioned by Perdue and Loeffler, who used their statement to applaud Trump's "leadership" and claim that Democrats are "hellbent on a socialist agenda that prioritizes wasteful, irresponsible spending."
The Working Families Party (WFP) tweeted in response to the Republican senators' statement that "Trump's 'leadership' just cost hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia a week of unemployment benefits that they won't get back."
"Loeffler and Perdue still won't support direct $2,000 checks to Georgia working families," WFP added.
Trump's last-minute attack on the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill, which he called a "disgrace," put the Georgia Republicans in a difficult spot, given that the senators celebrated the agreement on the campaign trail and touted their yes votes in advertisements released just before the president trashed the deal.
Neither Perdue nor Loeffler has publicly voiced support for stand-alone legislation that would boost the direct payments in the new relief law from $600 to $2,000. With the Democratic legislation set to receive a vote in the House on Monday, Perdue has been silent about the proposed payments while Loeffler has said that she would "look at" supporting the larger checks if Congress "repurposes wasteful spending toward that."
Ossoff, who is taking on Perdue on January 5, noted on Twitter that the Georgia incumbent "didn't even want the first round of stimulus checks," referring to the $1,200 payments provided under the CARES Act.
Warnock, vying to unseat Loeffler, declared Sunday that Senate Republicans are "the only reason Georgians won't receive a $2,000 relief check."
"Trump agreed. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate agreed. But Loeffler and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell refused. After blocking relief for nine months," Warnock tweeted. "When we win, we'll get families the help they need."
Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler late Sunday issued a joint statement praising President Donald Trump for signing into law a $900 billion coronavirus relief measure, declaring that additional economic help is now "on its way."
Notably absent from the Georgia Republicans' statement, however, was any mention of the outgoing president's demand for $2,000 direct payments to struggling Americans--a call that Perdue and Loeffler's Senate runoff opponents, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, have embraced and echoed.
"Trump's 'leadership' just cost hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia a week of unemployment benefits that they won't get back."
-- Working Families Party
Perdue and Loeffler said in their statement that they "look forward to continuing to fight alongside the president in his relentless pursuit to keep America great," remarks that came just after Trump signed the bipartisan relief bill Sunday night following nearly a week of needless and harmful delay.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Monday, the president's belated signing of the bill will likely cost millions of Americans a full week of unemployment benefits. That possibility also went unmentioned by Perdue and Loeffler, who used their statement to applaud Trump's "leadership" and claim that Democrats are "hellbent on a socialist agenda that prioritizes wasteful, irresponsible spending."
The Working Families Party (WFP) tweeted in response to the Republican senators' statement that "Trump's 'leadership' just cost hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia a week of unemployment benefits that they won't get back."
"Loeffler and Perdue still won't support direct $2,000 checks to Georgia working families," WFP added.
Trump's last-minute attack on the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill, which he called a "disgrace," put the Georgia Republicans in a difficult spot, given that the senators celebrated the agreement on the campaign trail and touted their yes votes in advertisements released just before the president trashed the deal.
Neither Perdue nor Loeffler has publicly voiced support for stand-alone legislation that would boost the direct payments in the new relief law from $600 to $2,000. With the Democratic legislation set to receive a vote in the House on Monday, Perdue has been silent about the proposed payments while Loeffler has said that she would "look at" supporting the larger checks if Congress "repurposes wasteful spending toward that."
Ossoff, who is taking on Perdue on January 5, noted on Twitter that the Georgia incumbent "didn't even want the first round of stimulus checks," referring to the $1,200 payments provided under the CARES Act.
Warnock, vying to unseat Loeffler, declared Sunday that Senate Republicans are "the only reason Georgians won't receive a $2,000 relief check."
"Trump agreed. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate agreed. But Loeffler and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell refused. After blocking relief for nine months," Warnock tweeted. "When we win, we'll get families the help they need."