A Republican representative highlighted what he deemed to be unnecessary items in the coronavirus relief package with a measure that would have given Americans $10,000 in stimulus checks.
The Democrat-controlled House approved the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill in a largely party-line 219-212 vote. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where lawmakers want to make adjustments to the minimum wage raise.
The bill would give $1,400 payments to individuals through August, as well as funds for schools and colleges, state and local government, renters, coronavirus vaccines and testing, and struggling industries.
One of the GOP critics is Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Earlier this week, he introduced a measure to make the case that the bill is unnecessarily costly and sends a substantial amount of money to causes unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic.
His amendment, if approved, would have raised the stimulus checks of $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples and remove 10 agenda items from the legislation. Among the items was funding for the arts, federal and corporate transit projects, foreign aid, and “vaccine confidence activities.”
The Republicans tried to show that by removing non-COVID-related funding, lawmakers could provide financially vulnerable Americans with more cash.
On Twitter, Gosar pointed out that only 9% of the bill addresses issues related to the pandemic and the economic fallout.
“Instead of focusing on helping Americans, “Democrats chose foreign aid, Big Tech transit, and Pelosi’s political priorities,” he wrote. “Government (sic) ordered the shutdown and broke the back of the economy. Break it, buy it.”
“Americans need help with car payments, mortgage, rent, and everyday necessities. The people, not government, corporations, or billionaires, need this help,” he added.
His amendment was rejected.
This is an excerpt from LaCorte News.
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