The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest conservative caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, released a fact sheet this week revealing “what Democrats hope the public won’t find” in the $1.9 trillion Biden bailout.
In a memo sent to members after Democrats released the full 591-page “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021″ on Friday (Feb. 19), the RSC’s newly elected chairman, Jim Banks, noted that Democrats have put all the ” special interest pork” and “other liberal goodies” into the bill.
“Of the $1.9 trillion, only 1 percent will go to vaccines, and only 5 percent of the entire package is for public health efforts directly related to the outbreak.” Banks told Fox News.
Banks said Biden’s bailout is a “bailout bill full of kickbacks to Democratic special interests that give them (interest groups) rights,” such as $10 million for each union, a bailout for Planned Parenthood and bailout grants for illegal immigrant families.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, Speaker of the House Pelosi installed a $200 million earmark for underground tunnels in San Francisco for Silicon Valley employees,” Banks said, “and that’s the bailout that gives back to the special interests that give them power.”
According to the memo, the bailout would give the EPA up to $50 million in environmental justice grants that are allegedly “thinly veiled kickbacks to leftist environmental groups.” The RSC says that under the umbrella of the left’s social justice agenda, the bill has Billions of dollars in loan forgiveness and subsidies will be provided to farmers and ranchers based on ethnicity.
Only $600 million of the bailout is for additional paid leave for federal employees and postal workers, the RSC said.
The RSC noted that the bailout appears to encourage school closures by providing $130 billion on top of the $110 billion already given to schools, even if those schools remain closed. In addition, the bill would give unions, including teachers’ unions that oppose school reopening, $10 million in salary protection program (PPP) funds.
As for the federal minimum wage, the RSC accused the bill of “killing jobs” by raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which would cost the U.S. 1.4 million jobs, with the greatest impact on young people with less Education.
The RSC said that offering a $400 weekly bonus for nearly a year and a half would give 53 percent of Americans an “unemployment raise” and would not effectively encourage people to return to work. At the same Time, the RSC also believes that a $1,400 check for couples earning up to $200,000 a year would be of little help.
The RSC also criticized the bill for budget-busting spending, saying that more than $1 trillion of the previous bailout was still unspent as Democrats pushed through a $1.9 trillion budget.
In addition, the RSC noted that the bill is soft on China (the Chinese Communist Party). For example, it allows funding for colleges and universities that have partnerships with the Confucius Institute and allows funding for colleges that have partnerships with companies owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
The House Budget Committee voted Monday (22) to advance the “American Rescue Plan” to a full vote later this week.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) has advised lawmakers to vote no on the bill. He said, “Republicans insist that we must safely reopen schools, reopen the economy, accelerate vaccine distribution, and effectively use the remaining $1 trillion from the previous COVID package.”
“However, Democrats have rejected hundreds of Republican amendments, and any effort to advance bipartisan solutions that are targeted, temporary, and tied to COVID relief.”
In the face of opposition from congressional Republicans, President Biden continues to say the bill needs to pass.
In announcing changes to PPP funding Monday, Biden said, “We need Congress to pass the American Relief Plan. It can deal with the immediate crisis facing small businesses.” “Right now, critics say this plan is too big. Let me ask them a question ‘What do you want me to cut? What would you save?'”
“In fact, an analysis by Wall Street’s Moody’s estimates that 7 million jobs would be created this year if my U.S. rescue plan is passed.” He added.
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