Gardner’s “Skinny” COVID Bill Slashes Emergency Unemployment Insurance, Leaves Coloradans Out to Dry

After month-long recess & four months of ignoring House-passed COVID relief, Gardner & GOP set to vote on stunt legislation that falls short

Colorado Sentinel Editorial: “Democrats are right about the meager and latent GOP Senate plan: It’s not enough. Not by far.”

Denver, CO - After Senator Cory Gardner and Mitch McConnell let emergency unemployment relief to expire as Coloradans are “crushed under the weight” of the pandemic, they took a month-long recess to campaign and now plan to vote on a stunt bill that is too little, too late for working families, unemployed Coloradans, the USPS, and our struggling local governments. 

The Gardner-supported stunt bill slashes emergency unemployment insurance in half, leaves our state and local governments out to dry, and lacks sufficient funding for the USPS while failing to provide cash relief or rental assistance to Coloradans. The Colorado Municipal League is begging Gardner to “understand that now is the time to assist state and local governments” as they are facing “cuts in programs, cuts in personnel.”

The Colorado Sentinel editorial board says the bill is “not enough. Not by far.”

Gardner’s latest stunt comes 113 days after the senator infamously said it would be “unfathomable” for Congress to leave Washington without further action, four months after the House passed sweeping pandemic aid, weeks of “infighting” among the GOP, and a month-long recess. 

Senator Michael Bennet slammed the bill, saying that Senate Republicans “put forward a half measure that’s coming months too late for working families” and the Senate should be working “in earnest and support American families through this crisis.” After hearing directly from Coloradans on a virtual event, John Hickenlooper said “we don’t have the time for dragging out the negotiations” and called for real action.

Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Eli Rosen:

“Mitch McConnell and Senator Cory Gardner wasted months, skipped town for a month-long recess, and now are considering a partisan, inadequate proposal that slashes emergency unemployment aid, doesn’t help Coloradans struggling to make rent and fails hamstrung state and local governments that don’t have the money to keep our fire departments and other public services running. Coloradans are depending on Senator Gardner for help but he has failed us again.”

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