FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MARCH 25, 2020

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Coronavirus Relief Bill Should Not Hand Trump and Mnuchin the Keys to a $500 Billion Corporate Slush Fund 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate and White House today announced a joint agreement on a coronavirus relief package based on the proposal from Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans that features, among other provisions, a nearly $500 billion slush fund that would be controlled by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. 

Mnuchin, who is best known for making millions off running a notorious foreclosure mill, would be able to direct corporate bailouts with limited, after-the-fact oversight. This is absolutely unacceptable.

It is clear that this bill is not final and its passage is not a foregone conclusion. Some Republicans have even voiced their opposition to the corporate bailout. Democrats in both houses of Congress should join them — they cannot and should not stand for such a corporate bailout. Voting this bill into law as it stands would be a huge mistake. 

“Republicans are using a global health crisis as a way to grab money for their rich friends and donors,” said Tax March Executive Director Maura Quint. “Corporations already got a no-strings-attached bailout in the form of massive tax breaks through the Trump Tax Scam and then their CEOs used that money to gold-plate the bathrooms on their third yacht. Handing Mnuchin a huge slush fund to dole out at whim to his greedy friends is a non-starter and its inclusion in this bill is, to put it mildly, complete bullshit.”

Democrats should not vote on this package until the corporate slush fund under Mnuchin’s grip is removed from the bill. Speaker Pelosi announced the House Democrats’ proposal just a couple of days ago which, notably, does not include a massive corporate bailout fund. The House Democrats’ coronavirus proposal should be the starting point for a bipartisan package in the Senate, not the one that hands $500 billion over to corporate America’s favorite Treasury Secretary. 

This crisis has reminded the nation that working people are the backbone of our economy. The era of blank checks for corporations needs to end. Congress must remove the Mnuchin corporate slush fund and put the American people first.