AOC says there is an 'urgency' to get 'as much as we can right now' out of stimulus talks as question looms if Democrats will control the Senate

AOC defund the police obama — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said there is a sense of "urgency" in getting "as much as we can" out of ongoing stimulus talks because she thinks "a third bill is not promised."
A runoff election in Georgia will determine which major party holds the majority in the Senate, which has implications in whether or not the Democrats' demands will be met in another coronavirus stimulus bill.
"I believe that once the moment Biden gets inaugurated, I think we'll start hearing from Republicans, 'Oh, this is all in the past. People are reopening their businesses,'" Ocasio-Cortez said. "I mean, they were denying how bad it was when we were in the full swing of it and are in the full swing of it."
"And so that is also, I think, adds the urgency of trying to get as much as we can right now, because, unless we win in Georgia, a third bill is not promised, and even if we're able to accomplish one, we don't know how generous it will be," she continued.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said there is "urgency" in getting "as much as we can right now" out of the stimulus negotiations if the Democrats fail to control the Senate during the Biden administration.

During an episode of the podcast "The Axe Files" with CNN's David Axelrod, the New York congresswoman said she thinks Republicans could block Democratic efforts for a larger stimulus package.

"I believe that once the moment Biden gets inaugurated, I think we'll start hearing from Republicans, 'Oh, this is all in the past. People are reopening their businesses,'" Ocasio-Cortez said during the podcast. "I mean, they were denying how bad it was when we were in the full swing of it and are in the full swing of it."

A runoff election in Georgia on January 5 will determine whether Republicans will continue to hold on to the Senate, which has implications in whether or not the Democrats will be able to fashion another coronavirus relief bill with their demands.

"And so that is also, I think, adds the urgency of trying to get as much as we can right now, because, unless we win in Georgia, a third bill is not promised, and even if we're able to accomplish one, we don't know how generous it will be," the progressive congresswoman said.

After failing to come to consensus on a second relief package for months, congressional officials are coming closer to negotiating a bipartisan bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber would likely stay in session through the weekend as they work through the finer details of the bill.

Ocasio-Cortez noted that there is support on both sides of the aisle for a generous stimulus bill, and that even President Trump "wants generous stimulus payments."

"You even have people as far right as Josh Hawley say $600 is not enough, $700 is not enough," she said. "It is really about the entire paradigm of austerity politics that we are up against. And that includes parts of the Democratic Party, parts of the Republican Party, but it does not include all of both."

Business Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported that the bill is "likely to contain $300 weekly federal unemployment benefits, as well as $600 stimulus payments for Americans."

"But lawmakers face a midnight deadline on Friday to pass a short-term spending bill to keep many federal agencies funded, or major parts of the government will start shutting down," Zeballos-Roig reported.

Ocasio-Cortez told Axelrod, "If there's not a real stimulus payment and extension of unemployment benefits," she would not support the bill.

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