CONGRESSMAN MOONEY LETS US DOWN AGAIN AND AGAIN

(03/26/2020)

MOONEY AN OUT-OF-STATE TRANSPLANT BY REPUBLICAN PAC By Deirde Purdy, Chairman Calhoun Democrat Party Very early Saturday morning (March 14), the House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The bill extends free testing for Covid-19, the novel coronavirus that has now been declared pandemic, to the uninsured. It also increases spending on unemployment benefits and Medicaid, provides for paid sick days, and allocates money to provide school lunches to students who schools are closed during the coronavirus public health emergency. The bill had bipartisan support and passed 363-40. The bill was negotiated by Speaker Pelosi with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. President Trump expressed support for the bill. Rep. Alex Mooney voted no. He claimed the (emergency) bill was rushed through and there should have been regular committee hearings so the public could comment. Once again, Mooney has let our district down. This isn’t the first time. Mooney is notorious for seldom appearing in the West Virginia Congressional district 2 (that’s us). If he were doing a good job for us in Washington, that would matter less. Instead, Mooney has consistently voted against healthcare for his constituents. He voted against guaranteeing healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions and in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act, including the expansion of Medicaid that provides health insurance to more than 150,000 West Virginians. He also voted against a bill recently passed in the House to require the federal government to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs, including insulin. (Even the West Virginia legislature made progress on this issue with a bill to cap the cost of copays for insulin at $25 (House) or $100 (Senate).) Mooney consistently votes against labor and working families. He voted against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act which, among other things, would impose penalties on employers who illegally fire or retaliate against workers attempting to organize. Mooney voted against federal support for multiemployer pension plans. He voted against raising the minimum wage to $15/hour. In the wake of Don Blankenship's prosecution, Mooney co-sponsored legislation to repeal the requirement that coal operators disclose health and safety violations to the SEC, the agency that protects investors and markets. For some reason, he keeps introducing bills to put the U.S. back on the gold standard. We can do better. Cathy Kunkel is the Democratic candidate for Congress. She is unopposed in the primary, but she has been in Calhoun County frequently. She supports rural broadband and a diverse rural economy. As she says, if we make these improvements “we can give our kids the economic freedom to stay in West Virginia.” Because political gatherings are at a standstill, please check her out at Kunkelforcongress.com.

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