Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., joined Boston Public Radio on Friday from Washington D.C., where he stepped away from the floor to provide an update on the $2 trillion economic relief package just before the House of Representatives approved it.
The bill — which now goes to the president for signature — will send checks directly to individuals and families, money for hospitals and health care providers, and financial assistance for small businesses.
Lynch said that he and other Democrats had hoped to provide more health care protections and better conditions for workers in the bill.
"I don't think it's done enough. We were told because of shortcomings, we'll do another bill, so we're working on that," he said. "I appreciate the sense of urgency and I think the impetus is here right now to get something done that’s much better for American workers."
Lynch said he fought for COBRA benefits that would provide health care to those who had previously received it from their employer but have since been laid off due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Those provisions were taken out in the Senate's reworking of the bill.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., had insisted well into Friday that he would request a full roll call vote, which would have forced members of Congress to travel en-masse to Washington D.C.
"There'll be a price for [Massie] to pay for putting his colleagues at risk and causing all this cost," said Lynch, who spoke to Boston Public Radio just moments before the package passed through Congress.
