Senate doesn’t bother to show for vote on stimulus package

Lots of people are working extra hard these days. Our health care workers, our grocery workers, our truck drivers, our farmers. But not so much for members of Congress. The United States Senate met this week to approve another economic aid package, a staggering $484 billion piece of legislation. The bill, despite the pricetag, was approved unanimously, but by just six U.S. Senators. The rest were no shows. The bill was approved by “unanimous consent” of the rest of the 100 senators. I’m not saying they should have broken social distancing guidelines and all gather together in the Senate chambers, but have they never heard of Zoom? With a bill this big, you’d think someone would at least want to take part to ask a few questions. Is every penny in this package money well spent? No one has a single objection? Do they even know where the money is going? Did they even read the bill? There is no question federal economic help is needed, with many businesses struggling to pay their bills, and 26 million Americans put out of work since the pandemic began. But is this the right help? Is the money going where it should to do the most good? You would think, with this much of our money on the line, and the stakes this high, our elected officials could at least be a little more involved in the process.