U.S. House Passes Latest COVID-19 Bill. Georgia’s Delegation Reacts.
Earlier this afternoon, the U.S. House passed the American Rescue Plan Act, H.R. 1319, by a vote of 220 to 211. Unsurprisingly, Georgia’s House delegation broke down along party lines. We’re getting some press releases and seeing tweets from members, so we’ll be updating this post as more responses come in.
Rep. Rick Allen
“This is not a COVID-19 ‘relief’ package; it’s a progressive spending bill that directs 91 percent of the nearly $2 trillion to unrelated Democrat priorities. It’s the most liberal piece of legislation Congress has ever sent to a President’s desk and does more to help Democrat special interests than the American people.
“This package is jammed with partisan policies like Blue State bailouts while leaving behind states like Georgia. As Governor Brian Kemp has pointed out, the Peach State will see $1.3 billion less than previous formulas, like the CARES Act, would have allocated.
“Unlike all of the previous coronavirus relief packages that shared bipartisan support, Democrats rejected any Republican input and passed the bill along party lines. They wouldn’t even consider including common-sense amendments like reopening schools nationwide or preventing funds from being spent until majority of the remaining $1 trillion from previous packages is spent. ‘Relief’ shouldn’t come at the price tag of hundreds of billions of dollars of unrelated, wasteful Washington spending.”
Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux
Rep. Barry Loudermilk
“All the economy needs before it comes roaring back is a full and complete reopening, not endless shutdowns or payouts to liberal states and special interest groups. Of the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion package, only nine percent is COVID-related spending; the rest goes to things like bailing out poorly run states, funding to foreign countries, and climate change – making it ‘the most progressive legislation in a generation, according to the White House. Why are Democrats lying to the American people and saying this bill is about COVID relief?
“Probably the most hypocritical part of the bill is the fact that they are not following the science, after bemoaning the prior administration, whenever given the chance, for not following the science. I offered an amendment to the bill that would prohibit federal funding from going to schools that did not reopen for in person learning, and Democrats shut it down, though the science says kids are safe to return to the classroom in person.
“There is a reason why economists say this bill is six and a half times larger than it needs to be, and that the chairman of the Fed told me the economy is poised to have a strong recovery…it’s because of the prior administration’s pro-growth policies before the pandemic, and Operation Warp Speed – to develop vaccines. Our underlying economy is still strong, and economists predict Americans saved over $2 trillion during the pandemic. Couple this with the record-breaking development of three effective vaccines, and you have the ingredients for an economic boom. The science and economics are clear: get our kids back into the classroom, and unleash the American economy.”
Rep. Lucy McBath
Rep. Buddy Carter
Rep. Drew Ferguson
Sen. Jon Ossoff
