GOP Rep Amends Dems' COVID Bill, Redirects Pork Spending to Americans in the Form of $10K Checks

By Samantha Chang March 1, 2021 at 8:43am

To underscore how useless and wasteful the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus “relief” bill is to most of the country, Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona proposed an amendment offering $10,000 stimulus checks to all Americans who were financially damaged by the government-mandated shutdowns.

“Only 9% of Pelosi’s $1.9 trillion ‘plan’ is related to COVID-19,” Gosar tweeted Saturday. “I offered an amendment providing $10k stimulus to Americans most affected by COVID-19 & lockdowns.”

Not surprisingly, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives ignored Gosar’s proposal.

“Democrats chose foreign aid, Big Tech transit, and Pelosi’s political priorities over direct relief for Americans,” he tweeted.

Only 9% of Pelosi’s $1.9 trillion “plan” is related to COVID-19.

I offered an amendment providing $10k stimulus to Americans most affected by COVID-19 & lockdowns.

Democrats chose foreign aid, Big Tech transit, and Pelosi’s political priorities over direct relief for Americans. pic.twitter.com/RzXos92QW7

— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) February 27, 2021

The congressman said that since the government caused the economic collapse by mandating mass shutdowns, it should fix the damage.

“[Government] ordered the shutdown and broke the back of the economy. Break it, buy it,” Gosar tweeted.

“Americans need help with car payments, mortgage, rent, and everyday necessities. The people, not government, corporations, or billionaires, need this help. Consider $10,000 a down payment.”

Governement 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. Consider $10,000 a down payment.

— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) February 27, 2021

Gosar’s amended proposal was a nonstarter for Democrats, who hijacked the coronavirus relief negotiations to sneak in left-wing agenda items not directly related to COVID-19 relief.

On Saturday, the House passed the pork-filled stimulus bill in a close 219-212 vote.

BREAKING: U.S. House votes 219-212 to approve $1.9T Covid-19 relief package; bill moves to the Senate, where a provision increasing the federal minimum wage is expected to be stripped following a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian. https://t.co/LPZLJjkCWn pic.twitter.com/7qPYrvztQR

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) February 27, 2021

Two Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon — voted against the bill, saying many of the spending items had nothing to do with directly helping the people.

In a statement Saturday, Golden blasted the porcine package, saying it buried the urgent needs of struggling Americans “under a mountain of unnecessary or untimely spending.”

Therefore, he said, he could not support nearly $2 trillion in wasteful spending “that is poorly targeted or in many cases not necessary at this moment in time.”

Golden also pointed out that this kind of massive deficit spending is unparalleled in American history.

“This amount of new spending is unprecedented since World War II,” he said. “It’s not unreasonable to take a step back and ask ourselves if we are making every dollar count and picking the right priorities.”

Similarly, Republicans slammed the coronavirus package, which included federal funding for abortions, a $15 minimum wage and $350 billion for liberal state and city governments that destroyed their own economies with rampant shutdowns.

“Democrats changed the funding formula to ensure most of the dollars go to blue states that imposed strict economic lockdowns,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board noted.

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said the COVID “relief” bill was a joke because only a tiny fraction of the money goes toward COVID relief.

“This bill is trash,” Donalds told The Western Journal on Saturday. “Only 9 percent of this bill actually goes towards COVID-19. Nine percent.”

The congressman was disgusted that Congress was not making sure “that the checks are going to people who actually have lost their job and are not back to work.”

It’s time we speak truth in the nation’s Capitol:

The American Rescue Plan is being sold to the public as COVID-19 aid, yet only 9% of the funds are directed towards providing stimulus relief. The American taxpayers deserve better than radical and fake relief bills. pic.twitter.com/XYvfGuSeNR

— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) February 27, 2021

Once again, Democrats showed they don’t really care about everyday Americans and that their radical agenda might sound good in theory but is useless and impractical.

It is unreasonable and absurd to push for open borders, taxpayer-funded abortions and a $15 minimum wage at the same time that you decimate the economy by imposing mass shutdowns. There’s only so much OPM (Other People’s Money) to go around.

Submit a Correction →