A majority of Texas Republicans in the House voted no on the latest coronavirus relief package proposed by Democrats.
The only two exceptions are Reps. Kenny Marchant (TX-24) and Ron Wright (TX-06), who both skipped the vote.
Most notably, Republicans in congressional swing districts all voted no on the bill, including Reps. Dan Crenshaw (TX-02) and Chip Roy (TX-21). In fact, no Republican lawmaker in the House voted in support of the bill.
All Texas Democrats voted in favor of the legislation, which passed by a vote 214 to 188, largely on party lines.
If agreed to in the Senate, the $2.2 trillion bill would see the $600 federal unemployment payments restored through next January, give Americans an additional stimulus check, and provide $436 billion for state and local government funding.
It represents a significant reduction from the bill introduced by Democrats in May, which asked for $3.4 trillion.
It’s unclear if the Senate will be able to strike a deal for a second relief package before the November election.
The first coronavirus relief package, the CARES Act, was signed into law in March. In Texas, more than 1.8 million Texans continue to claim unemployment and while the number of Texans reporting job loss continues to decline, tens of thousands of new claims are still being filed weekly.
Photo: Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
