Georgia Republicans Leave Town After GOP Inaction Sets Up “Millions to Lose $600 Weekly Jobless Aid”

The US economy faces the “worst drop on record” while Georgia Republicans continue opposition to critical unemployment relief

ATLANTA — As the US economy reports its “worst quarter on record,” Georgia’s Republican Senators are set to head home for the weekend after failing to extend expanded unemployment aid, “a serious blow to millions of Americans who lost jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Instead of working hard to pass relief, Republicans instead spent this week infighting over a proposal that would cut benefits and was even denounced by Georgia’s Republican Labor Commissioner Mark Butler as “the dumbest idea ever.”

And what have Georgia’s GOP Senate contenders said about this relief? Senator David Perdue previously called this vital program “a hindrance” — even as he called banks making “more than $10 billion in fees” off a small business relief program “the cost of doing business.” Senator Kelly Loeffler, meanwhile, said that she’s “not seeing a big need to extend the federal unemployment insurance” during a recession, and her opponent, Congressman Doug Collins, wants to “cut back” on expanded unemployment relief “or do away with it altogether.”

“While Georgia Republicans are taking a weekend off, millions of Americans are struggling to figure out how to pay the rent and bills due next month,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “At a time when they should be looking for ways to help Georgia families, Georgia’s Republican Senate candidates have done nothing but fight against critical relief efforts in a national crisis.”

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