Thune: Providing COVID Relief and Confirming Qualified Judges Among Senate Republicans' Top Priorities

Statement

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the need for Congress to pass additional COVID relief legislation and Senate Republicans' effort to work with Senate Democrats to find common ground on targeted, fiscally responsible legislation to help the American people. He also expressed his disappointment in Senate Democrats as they continue to insist on including their liberal wish list agenda as part of a COVID relief bill. Thune also discussed judicial nominations and the Senate's responsibility to confirm qualified judges who interpret the law as written instead of legislating from the bench. Thune noted that over the last four years, the Senate has confirmed nearly 230 judges to federal courts, an accomplishment he attributes to the majority leader's commitment to leaving no vacancy behind.

Excerpts of Thune's remarks are below:

"I believe what we should be doing is sitting down and working on a reasonable bill, a targeted bill, a fiscally responsible bill, and Republicans have been more than willing to do that, and more than willing to compromise.

"But the Democrats, both in the House and the Senate, continue to insist upon a multi-trillion dollar bill, which consists, again, of a bunch of liberal wish list items, taxpayer bailouts for blue states, tax cuts for millionaires across this country, and putting money into diversity studies on cannabis, instead of the targeted things, the things that are really going to be necessary to help [the] American people and our economy recover from the coronavirus."

Source