Americans who have been put out of work by COVID-19 are worried about paying for things like rent or food. Members of the Trump Administration, like Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, have proposed giving these people stimulus checks to help them pay for necessities during this time.
While the measure does have some support among Republican lawmakers, there are others who oppose the idea. That includes Lindsey Graham who told reporters that giving Americans this stimulus would be “money wasted.”
The South Carolina senator said of the proposal, “[direct checks are] money wasted. It won’t help the economy just throwing money at a problem. I don’t know why giving a thousand dollars on top of their paycheck makes any sense now because there’s no economy to participate in. I’d rather take that money and shore up health care systems.”
Graham also said, “My focus is not giving people a check from the government. My focus is to make sure you get your paycheck from your employer. I’m willing to float loans to employers to make sure the payroll continues. That’s phase three.”
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped into Graham for the comments. She shared a clip of the comments, writing, “Lindsey Graham has received a check from the government every month since 1995.”
Lindsey Graham has received a check from the government every month since 1995. https://t.co/LCUVCv63xt
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 17, 2020