Over the past weekend, the Biden administration scored its first major legislative victory when the Senate passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill by a vote of 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of the bill. Despite Congress having passed five bipartisan COVID-relief bills to date, there was not a single Republican who voted in favor of the bill. Democrats claim this is an example of Republicans not doing enough to fight the ongoing pandemic. In reality, Republican opposition stems from the hundreds of billions of wasted dollars within the bill.
Biden has said we must act swiftly to get this pandemic under control, something I very much agree with. However, only $123 billion of the 1.9 trillion dollar package, roughly 6%, goes directly to COVID. On top of that, the Congressional Budget Office found that over $800 billion won’t be spent until 2022 or later, undercutting the claim that such a large bill is justified due to the need for swift action.
Record savings this past year is evidence of that, and sending checks out won’t increase consumer spending. Once this pandemic is behind us, customers will come back.
The bill also attributes the current unemployment problem to a lack of money in the American pockets, but I argue that is a result of the pandemic. Record savings this past year is evidence of that, and sending checks out won’t increase consumer spending. Once this pandemic is behind us, customers will come back.
On top of this, this bill calls for $350 billion to bail out states. According to JP Morgan, 21 states had a surplus last year. The majority of other states drew into rainy-day funds. Very few are actually in financial distress. California for example would be receiving $24 billion, despite the fact that they had a $20 billion surplus in 2020. Sending unneeded money to states is both wasteful and harmful, as it would incentivize poor spending habits.
President Biden claims that passage of this bill is necessary to get kids back in school, but this bill does not provide a meaningful plan to do so. On top of that, the Congressional Budget Office says that only 4% of the money in this bill would be spent in 2021. If Biden is serious about getting kids back in school five days a week within the first 100 days of his presidency, as he promised on the campaign trail, he must take on the teachers unions. The CDC says schools can reopen if they follow certain measures. We must listen to what the experts are saying.
This bill must target those who are in need. Extending unemployment benefits, as this bill does, is a good thing. There are lots within this bill that merits bipartisan support. But sending out unnecessary money will only worsen the national debt and risk inflation.
President Biden has called himself the unity candidate throughout his presidential campaign. Jamming through a $1.9 trillion bill without a single Republican vote in congress would say otherwise.
There was room for bipartisanship on this bill. The $600 billion proposal by ten Senate Republicans would have given the necessary funds to extend unemployment through June, speed up vaccine delivery, increase testing, and the necessary funds to get schools open.
President Biden has called himself the unity candidate throughout his presidential campaign. Jamming through a $1.9 trillion bill without a single Republican vote in congress would say otherwise.
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