'Massive drafting error' in $2 trillion coronavirus bill needs to be fixed, senators say

Ayla Ellison -

The Senate was expected to vote Wednesday afternoon on a $2 trillion COVID-19 spending bill, but a handful of Republican senators have threatened to delay the vote over a "massive drafting error," according to NBC News.

In a joint statement, Republican Sens. Tim Scott, S.C., Lindsey Graham, S.C., and Ben Sasse, Neb., said: "A massive drafting error in the current version of the coronavirus relief legislation could have devastating consequences: Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work."

The senators said they will oppose fast-tracking the bill until the text is updated or the Department of Labor issues guidance that "no American would earn more by not working than by working," according to NBC News.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., joined the other three senators at a press conference on Wednesday. He wrote in a tweet that "we shouldn't have policies in place that disincentivize people from returning to the workforce," according to The Hill.

The group of senators are seeking an amendment vote that would cap unemployment benefits at 100 percent of a person's income.

Although the full text of the bill is not yet known, leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee have released some details, including a provision that invests $150 billion in hospitals and medical centers to handle surging caseloads, according to USA Today. The bill would send an additional $150 billion to state and local governments facing costs related to COVID-19, according to The Wall Street Journal

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