Washington, D.C. – Friday, February 26, 2021 U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) issued the following statement on H.R. 1319 – American Rescue Plan of 2021. 

"Once again exploiting the pandemic, Democrats' forced through a $1.9 trillion bailout under the guise of COVID-19 relief.  This enormous bailout follows the $4 trillion already spent on direct aid to American households, unemployment insurance,  stimulus checks, rental assistance, testing and hospital visits, small business loans, PPP funds, law enforcement assistance, firefighter grants, healthcare, health providers, pharmaceutical companies, vaccine rollout, and education. All that, and we still have $1 trillion from the previous aid packages that have gone unspent!

"This legislation is not designed to help Americans recover from the pandemic. It is designed to implement a four-year-long wish list of partisan policies. Only 9% of the current bill’s spending is focused on COVID relief.  The other 91% is designated to partisan political priorities.

"Some of these priorities include:

• Controversial Silicon Valley Underground Tunnel
• $350 billion in blue state bailouts
• $86 billion in union pension bailouts
• $34 billion to expand Obamacare
• $200 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services
• $135 million to the National Endowment of the Arts
• $1,400/week for 15 weeks to federal bureaucrats to stay home and not work if their kid's school is remote.

"Not only are these policies partisan and wasteful, they discourage the reopening of schools, disincentivize employees from returning to work, reward federal employees at the expense of everyday Americans, incentivize further lockdowns and stifle honest attempts to successfully reopen the economy.

"At its best, this bill would be an attempt to throw money at a problem -- a problem you can’t solve with money.  At worst, it is a shameless attempt to deceive our citizens -- masquerading bailouts of failed liberal policies as pandemic relief for Americans.

"For these reasons, how could anyone in good conscience vote for this bill?  I vote NO."

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