© Getty ImagesSanders says he can't support bipartisan COVID-19 relief proposal in its current form
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday said that he cannot support a bipartisan $908 billion COVID-19 relief proposal unveiled this week by congressional moderates unless significant changes are made.
"I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to significantly improve this bill," Sanders, a prominent progressive lawmaker, said in a statement. "But, in its current form, I cannot support it."
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), on Tuesday released a coronavirus relief proposal in an effort to get congressional leaders in both parties to negotiate a deal on legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) subsequently said they supported using the $908 billion proposal as the basis for negotiations.
The proposal includes funds for state and local governments, unemployment insurance, small-business support programs and vaccine development and distribution, among other things.
Sanders expressed concerns about a portion of the proposal that would provide liability protection for businesses. The proposal calls for short-term federal liability protection in order for states to have time to prepare their own responses.
"The Manchin-Romney proposal will, through this liability provision, encourage corporations to avoid implementing the common sense safety standards needed to protect workers and consumers - and make a bad situation worse," Sanders said.
Sanders also criticized the proposal for not including any direct payments to Americans.
Congress passed legislation in March that provided for a single round of payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child, and progressives are pushing for additional payments to be part of the the next relief package.
"At a time when the COVID crisis is the worst that it has ever been in the U.S. with record-breaking levels of hospitalization and death, the Manchin-Romney proposal not only provides no direct payments to working families, it does nothing to address the healthcare crisis and has totally inadequate financial assistance for the most vulnerable," Sanders said.
"That is wrong morally and it is wrong economically if we hope to rebuild the economy."