There is common ground on targeted items that would be involved in coronavirus relief legislation, but the question remains about whether either side will concede those points, Sen. Kevin Cramer said Monday.
"The question is whether it's tenable for one side or the other to accept the fact that the other side might win something," the North Dakota Republican said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "[What] I always found frustrating in Washington is when people oppose something for what's not in it."
That common ground must be found, whether it's expanding help for the airline industry, extending unemployment payments at a lower rate than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants, or on other issues, said Cramer.
"We shouldn't let nothing be the conclusion just because you didn't get everything," said Cramer.
There is also a "lot of monkey business" going on with the policy side, including stopping states from requiring voter IDs or a push to allow stimulus checks for illegal immigrants, he said.
"Let's focus on things the vast majority of people [want]," said Cramer. "We might not get 10 or 20 Republicans. We have to come to the middle."
There is much that can be agreed on, including airline support, help for small businesses, and even support for restaurants and the travel industry, which were largely left out of the last round of relief, he added.
Cramer said he does think Pelosi prefers that nothing be passed until after the election because Democrats will benefit when the public blames Republicans.
"The reality is that a deal isn't going to be struck until after the election," Cramer said. "Once that election pressure valve is released I think there are opportunities for things to get done. People should be optimistic about that, but that's not the message we should be sending as lawmakers."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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