Does Congress have a role to play in funding the fight against the COVID pandemic, which has been plaguing this country (and the world) since early last year? Absolutely.
And Congress has done so to the tune of literally trillions of dollars. Through a series of pieces of legislation, all passed in a bipartisan manner, most significantly the Cares Act, we’ve funded billions and billions for COVID testing; for development of a vaccine; for state and local government first responders including police, fire, and emergency personnel; for schools; for hospitals; for PPE (personal protective equipment); for unemployment benefits; for public health programs; for nursing homes; for rent relief; for tax relief; for direct payments to virtually everyone; and for much more.
In fact, Congress has already allocated so much money to battling COVID, that it’s estimated up to $1 trillion of it hasn’t even been spent yet. Doesn’t it make sense that we spend those dollars already set aside for COVID relief, before allocating even more of your hard earned tax dollars? I certainly think so.
But not Nancy Pelosi. Or Chuck Schumer. Or Bernie Sanders. Or AOC. Or Joe Biden. As Rahm Emanuel once famously said “you never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
Democrats are now trying to ram through Congress a massive liberal wish list, using so-called COVID relief as an excuse. Here are some examples. A $15 minimum wage – the progressive Holy Grail. None other than Bill Clinton once said “increasing the minimum wage is the wrong way to raise the incomes of low wage earners.” And it’s estimated that a $15 minimum wage would kill 1.4 million jobs.
In previous COVID relief bills Congress passed (and I voted for), we allocated money to states based on population, so the money was fairly and equitably distributed. In this Democrat bill, Democrat-run states like New York and California will be rewarded for having killed businesses and jobs in their states, through getting more money than states that kept unemployment lower by following more commonsense shutdown policies. So Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom (who may soon be recalled) are rewarded for self-inflicted harmful policies – and you pay for it.
Billions and billions more for the teachers unions, with no requirement that schools reopen. And the vast majority of the money would be spent AFTER the pandemic is over, so it really has nothing to do with COVID relief.
Your tax dollars will go to illegal immigrants. And your tax dollars will pay for abortions (by removing Hyde protections.) And the PPP program affiliation rules will be changed to allow Planned Parenthood to receive funding.
And if all that isn’t bad enough, the so-called COVID relief bill is loaded with pork, and brings back earmarks, which had previously been banned by Republican budget reform efforts. And this additional $1.9 trillion adds to the already skyrocketing national debt, meaning we are putting the additional huge cost on the backs of our children and grandchildren.
Yes, the bill overall probably polls well, because most people will get more direct payment money from the government (it seems like free money.) Unfortunately the bill does far more harm than good, and that’s why I cannot in good faith support it.
But as they say, elections have consequences, and the Democrats now control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. They can write the bills they want, and despite President Biden‘s promising to work in a bipartisan manner, this massive bill is anything but bipartisan.
So hold on to your wallet.