Republic senator McConnell opposes federal bailouts, proposes New York bankruptcy

US Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell and his Republican caucus have moved against the federal bailouts proposed for New York and other states

While declaring this on Wednesday April 22, 2020, in an online interview, the senator made reference to the harsh backlash from Democrats to justify his action.

“My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now so they don’t have to do that. That’s not something I’m going to be in favor of,” McConnell said.

Instead, McConnell suggested Congress consider Chapter 9 laws so states can restructure their mounting debts by declaring bankruptcy, an option that’s currently only available to cities and local governments.

“I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route,” he said.

The Kentucky senator added that “There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations.”

Gov. Cuomo had pleaded for a federal bailout for weeks and says New York could suffer a $15 billion revenue shortfall because of the pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of Empire State residents forced into unemployment and businesses shuttered.

While reacting to the senator’s comment during an afternoon appearance, the governor stated that “That is one of the saddest, really dumb comments of all time.”

“OK, let’s have all the states declare bankruptcy. That’s the way to bring the economy back. That’s how you want to reopen by bankrupting the states? I mean, it’s just a really dumb statement,” he added.

New York Rep. Max Rose, dared McConnell to come to his neck of the woods.

“I want to take him to the police precincts in my district on Staten Island, in South Brooklyn to meet the cops, I want to take him to the firehouses, I want to take him to meet the nurses, I want to take him to meet the bus drivers, I want to take him to meet the sanitation workers — everybody who’s out there putting their neck on the line right now … and have him tell them to drop dead to their face,” Rose said.

“The only type of person who would do or say something like this is a piece of human trash. I have no doubt in my mind,” she added.

Underscoring the partisan nature of his remarks, McConnell’s office released a transcript of the Hewitt interview in which his comments about bailouts were placed under a subhead reading “On Stopping Blue State Bailouts.”

McConnell’s modern-day “drop dead” slight came one day after President Trump vowed that he, for one, would support including state bailouts in the next economic stimulus package being worked on by Congress.

McConnell’s chamber passed a $484 billion coronavirus package Tuesday that includes emergency funds for small businesses, hospitals and increased COVID-19 testing capacities.

Democrats argued that the package should’ve included bailouts for hard-hit state governments as well, but McConnell and his Republican majority stood firm. The House is expected to consider the Senate-approved bill Thursday.