ATLANTA — Sen. David Perdue’s (R-GA) campaign released an ad Monday showing Jon Ossoff (D), who is challenging Perdue in Georgia’s runoff election, refusing to answer a debate question about the direct payments Ossoff would include in a coronavirus relief package if he were elected to the U.S. Senate.
Ossoff advocated during the debate — in which he participated alone as Perdue has declined to debate Ossoff — for lawmakers to include direct stimulus payments to Americans in the next coronavirus relief package while government leaders in various states continue to impose lockdowns and restrictions on businesses as a response to coronavirus spread.
However, when debate panelist Greg Bluestein, a political reporter with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pressed Ossoff for more specifics on the payments, Ossoff did not provide them.
Bluestein asked, “You’ve called for direct stimulus checks to jumpstart the economy, but what should those payments look like, and what limits should be imposed to ensure that they don’t go to people who shouldn’t merit getting them?”
“I think we shouldn’t get bogged down in the details,” Ossoff replied. “I think that we should rush immediate direct financial relief to the American people, and it should’ve been done months ago.”
Ossoff then changed the subject to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and attacked McConnel for causing “bitter partisanship” during the Obama administration and obstructing many of the administration’s initiatives.
The latest Perdue campaign ad highlights Ossoff’s debate response:
The details of the coronavirus relief package are precisely the cause of the delay for passing it. The deadline to include the package in a government funding bill is currently December 11, although this may be extended. While negotiations are still ongoing, the proposed $908 billion plan does not include direct stimulus checks.
Perdue voted in favor of the CARES Act earlier this year, which included direct $1,200 payments to Americans based on their income, despite Perdue personally opposing that aspect of the relief package. Perdue has called for “more targeted relief” and has urged continuing the Paycheck Protection Program to aid small businesses.
Perdue’s campaign chastised Ossoff for being “unprepared” following the debate.
“United States Senators need to take their jobs seriously in order to provide results for the American people, like Senator Perdue did when the pandemic hit. Ossoff is unserious, unqualified, and unprepared,” Perdue campaign manager Ben Fry said in a statement.
Write to Ashley Oliver at [email protected].
