Before leaving the Capitol until after the election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shamefully spent weeks ramming through Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation while stonewalling desperately needed pandemic relief for millions of Americans.

The only upside of that irresponsibility is that it buys time for a deeper assessment of earlier rounds of COVID-19 relief, which should produce a model to get the next round to where it actually is most needed.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that of $4 trillion in economic relief approved earlier by Congress and the Federal Reserve, “more than half of it, $2.3 trillion, went to companies that “in many cases were not required to show they were impacted by the pandemic or keep workers employed.”

Also, the Post reported, some major companies that accepted money under the coronavirus relief programs paid executives six- or seven-figure bonuses days or weeks before declaring bankruptcy to restructure. The companies paid $135 million in bonuses just before declaring $75 billion in debts in their bankruptcy filings.

Eventually, ideally soon after the election and before winter, Congress will have to adopt a new recovery plan if it hopes to avoid deep and long-lasting economic consequences due to the pandemic. When it does so, it should ensure this time that a much higher percentage of relief goes to working people, small business owners and state and local governments to ensure the broadest possible foundation for economic recovery when the pandemic at long last retreats.

— The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre (TNS)