Walden blasts Senate for ‘shameful’ delays in virus relief funding

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore. was sharply critical last week after the Senate failed to pass needed funding to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program. saying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) played partisan games, delaying much-needed aid to Americans during a global pandemic.

“Shameful. Absolutely shameful. After needlessly delaying passage of the CARES Act less than two weeks ago, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer are at it again – delaying critical support to a nation that’s hurting. Just today, we learned 6.6 million hard-working Americans filed for unemployment this week. That’s on top of the more than 10 million over the prior two weeks. 

"People are hurting. Small businesses and the workers they employ are barely hanging on. This funding is specifically designed to keep people on the payroll at their jobs. If employers cannot retain employees, those people lose their job-based insurance. This makes no sense.

"It is reprehensible that Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer are again willing to hold the nation’s workforce hostage instead of doing the right thing and helping Americans quickly in a time of need. The programs they want to add funding to are by no means running out of money, the one to keep our small businesses afloat is. That’s why they need to get out of the way and help us save jobs and get the economy ready to reopen,” said Walden.