Tipsheet

These Are a Handful of Garbage Items Tossed into the COVID Relief Bill

Beth Baumann
Beth Baumann  |  December 21, 2020 8:40 PM

Congress is expected to vote on the second Wuhan coronavirus relief package that is tied to the omnibus spending bill. There have been complaints – and very valid ones at that – about members of Congress and their staff not having enough time to read the text of the more than 5,000 page document.

We have frequently been told about the small portion of the bill that addresses the pandemic, like $300 a week in unemployment benefits and another round of direct pay stimulus checks. Instead of being $1,200 per adult and $500 per child, there is a flat rate of $600 per person, with no distinction between whether they are an adult or a child. The bill also includes funding for schools, health care workers and vaccine distribution. Another round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans are also part of this bill.

That begs the question: what is in the bill that is not tied to the pandemic? Here are just a few:

Climate change is referenced multiple times throughout the bill.

There is also quite a bit of funding for other countries.

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To make matters even worse, the funding is not just for those countries and their governments. It is for ridiculous things, like "gender programs."

And who could leave out the horse racing bit? Apparently Congress would create a committee that regulates horses used for racing to prevent people from injecting them with performance-enhancing drugs.

Of course the arts has to be represented.

And HIV workers stationed abroad need a helping hand.

While we are at it, let us create a public service announcement (PSA) campaign to prevent teenagers from drinking underage and having sex? Maybe we should throw in another commission, this one with the goal of teaching Americans how to properly store flammable liquids.

And New York's Kennedy Center needed cash thrown its way.

While many Americans are still out of work, Congress seems to think it is a good idea to create new "diversity" mandates, including dedicating an entire office to the measure.

There is also funding for public media outlets, including those that are outside the United States.

And millions are being used for Joe Biden's transition team.

But hey, at least Congress will benefit from this bill, right?

This is prime example of why so many people cannot stand politics or politicians. Americans want to feel as though their elected officials have their best interest at heart. It is hard to make that argument when there is unnecessary crap in a bill that is supposed to supposedly help people through the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. This bill is nothing more than a bunch of special interests thrown into one and sprinkled with COVID relief. There are more than 5,000 pages to this bill and yet how many items do we hear about? Maybe 5 to 10 pages worth, if that? 

If Congress actually wanted to get things done and help the American people, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would have been willing to work with Republicans before the presidential election. They would have passed a single bill that focused solely on the virus and relief for individuals and businesses instead of tossing it into the omnibus bill.