TOPLINE: This week, the House is expected to consider the nearly $2 trillion package of progressive priorities Democrats have rushed to bring to the House Floor. Despite preaching for unity and bipartisanship, President Biden and House Democrats abandoned every opportunity to work with Republicans on commonsense COVID-relief and decided to ram a partisan budget reconciliation through Congress. On Monday, the Budget Committee compiled the reconciliation package, which consists of the text transmitted by the 9 committees last week.
Background on Reconciliation
Democrats’ reconciliation package will only keep schools closed, bailout blue states, pay people not to work, and raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. Republicans insist that we must safely reopen schools, reopen the economy, speed up vaccine distribution, and effectively spend unobligated funding that remains. However, Democrats rejected hundreds of Republican amendments and any efforts to advance bipartisan solutions that are targeted, temporary, and tied to COVID relief.
It is clear Democrats have no interest in approaching COVID relief in a timely and targeted fashion and are instead using the reconciliation process to jam through their liberal wish list agenda. By advancing the minimum wage increase, Democrats are positioning to break the Byrd Rule and effectively end the filibuster to force major liberal policies through using reconciliation.
- S. Con. Res. 5 was a shell FY21 Budget Resolution and gave reconciliation instructions to 12 committees to increase the deficit by $1.9 trillion so that they could pass a partisan COVID package.
- The budget resolution will provide reconciliation instructions to several committees to produce legislation that won’t be subject to the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
- Multiple items within President Biden’s COVID proposal would be considered extraneous matters that violate the Byrd Rule in the Senate, including increasing the minimum wage and paid leave, however, Democrats are positioning to break the Byrd Rule to force major liberal policies through using reconciliation.
- Nine of the twelve committees that received reconciliation instructions held hybrid markups last week, but notably, three committees chose to forgo markups all together.
Pelosi’s Payoff to Progressives Act
Last year, Republicans and Democrats worked together to enact four bipartisan COVID relief packages to help America address the health and economic crisis we face from the pandemic. Democrats’ latest scheme abandons that precedent in favor of a slate of liberal wish-list items unrelated to the ongoing pandemic.
Speaker Pelosi and President Biden are forging ahead with their incredibly expensive partisan relief plan while over $1 trillion in funds from previously-enacted laws remain unspent to fight COVID and reopen our economy.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report concluding that, even without any new stimulus spending, the GDP would return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021.
The reality is less than 9% of their bill goes to public health and combatting COVID-19. Much of the funding in Democrats’ partisan spending bill is appropriated for as long as 10 years for progressive programs that would extend far beyond the COVID-19 emergency. In fact, $670 billion is spent in 2022 or after.
What’s in the $1.9 Trillion Package?
- Authorizes $126.8 billion to schools without any guarantee that schools provide the option of in-person instruction for America’s school children.
- According to CBO, 95% of the money for schools won’t be spent until after 2021 – slowing down getting kids back in school.
- Nearly all of the $68 billion obligated to K-12 schools remains available from previous relief packages to support reopening schools and could be utilized immediately.
- Less than 9% of the $1.9 trillion plan goes to combatting COVID-19 through public health spending such as national vaccination program, tracking, and more testing.
- Multiple pro-life concerns in the package:
- Fails to include Hyde protections to prevent taxpayer dollars from paying for abortions.
- Requires taxpayers to subsidize health plans that potentially cover elective abortions.
- Changes PPP affiliation rules for non-profits to allow Planned Parenthood to receive funding.
- Kills 1.4 million jobs by raising the national minimum wage by 107% to $15/hour.
- Codifies numerous partisan priorities, including duplicative rental assistance to funnel money toward non-COVID purposes and restarts the ineffective Obama-era State Small Business Credit Initiative.
- Includes a $350 billion bailout for blue states.
- Includes $400 a week federal unemployment through August, costing approximately $260 billion.
- Despite projections for economic growth, the legislation provides a third round ofstimulus checks costing more than $422 billion, which will include households that have experienced little or no financial loss during the pandemic.
- Illegal immigrants would be eligible for some benefits included in the package.
- Expands expensive and ineffective health coverage policies that altogether cost approximately $53 billion.
- Worsens the already flawed structure of the ACA’s subsidies by dramatically increasing government spending and creating new inequities by ignoring the actual income of certain enrollees and giving them free coverage.
- Provides federal and postal workers with an additional 600 hours of paid leave.
- Extends the 15% SNAP increase.
- $800,000,000 to distribute commodities worldwide.
- $270,000,000 in Arts and Humanities Endowments.
- $200,000,000 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
- $100,000,000 for Silicon Valley Underground Transit Expansion.
What Democrats Prioritized in Committee
Republicans offered thoughtful amendments primarily focused on reopening schools and the economy, expanding access to vaccines, targeting assistance to ensure it goes to thepeople who need it most, and safeguarding taxpayer dollars against waste, fraud, and abuse. Democrats rejected virtually every amendment on a party line vote. Instead, Democrats prioritized the following harmful provisions:
Agriculture Committee – Only 62% of agriculture and nutrition funds from previous relief packages have been spent or obligated but this bill spends an additional $16 billion and prolongs dependence on government programs.
- Extends the 15% SNAP increase through September 2021.
- Provides $800 million to distribute commodities worldwide.
- Provides $1 billion in nutrition assistance for territories – which is in addition to the$614 million provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, of which to date, zero has been obligated.
- Democrats rejected efforts to unfreeze funding for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
- Democrats rejected $200 million to meet the unfulfilled requests for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program. DLT helps hospitals, health clinics, schools, and libraries purchase the equipment needed to help rural residents see doctors and teachers safely during this pandemic.
Education & Labor Committee – This package favors left-wing special interests and fails to help all schools safely reopen or get our economy back on track.
- Provides $126.8 billion to schools without any guarantee that schools provide the option of in-person instruction for America’s school children.
- According to the CBO, 95% of the money for schools won’t be spent until after 2021 – delaying getting kids back in school.
- Kills 1.4 million jobs by raising the national minimum wage by 107% to $15/hour.
- Undermines the integrity of workers’ compensation programs and forces taxpayers to cover many non-employment-related claims.
- Requires taxpayers to subsidize health plans that potentially cover elective abortions.
Energy & Commerce Committee – Republicans, like the CBO, do not understand how these agencies would be able to spend all of the new funds rapidly in a manner that has any meaningful near-term impact on reducing COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States.
- Every Democrat voted against including the Hyde Amendment protections.
- Republicans offered several amendments trying to ensure that as many Americans as possible can get the COVID vaccine as soon as possible but all Republican efforts were blocked by Democrats as they recklessly pursue their partisan path.
- Incentivizes states to expand Medicaid to address COVID-19. This is neither a targeted nor a timely approach to continue the fight against COVID-19.
- Includes $50 million for Title X Family Planning programs.
Financial Services Committee – Democrats are using the COVID crisis to push partisan programs and ideas that have had no demonstrable impact on the American people.
- There is bipartisan agreement that this additional $1.9 trillion package could overheat the economy.
- Codifies numerous partisan priorities, including duplicative rental assistance to funnel money toward non-COVID-19 purposes and restarts the ineffective Obama-era State Small Business Credit Initiative.
Oversight Committee – Multiple states and localities have already recovered enough that they are running budget surpluses and do not need this bill’s additional funds for COVID-19 relief.
- Includes a $350 billion bailout for blue states.
- $46 billion in CARES Act funding remains unspent and is available through December 31, 2021.
- Spends $570 million to provide federal and postal workers with an additional 600 hours of paid leave.
Small Business Committee – Democrats’ COVID-19 package and administrative actions will place even greater challenges on small businesses beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: an inhospitable economic environment. Many of the policies in President Biden’s plan will destroy small businesses that have already been through an incredibly tough year.
- Changes PPP affiliation rules for non-profits to allow Planned Parenthood to receive funding.
- Democrats refused to consider the negative impact that $15/hour minimum wage would have on small businesses.
Transportation Committee – Democrats’ package fails not only because they overspend and expand the federal government, they also fail because of unwise investments in policies that will lead to additional wasteful spending.
- A lopsided package that disadvantages rural communities.
- Of the $30 billion for the Federal Transit Authority, 87% is directed specifically to urbanized areas.
- The largest hub airports receive 62% of funding.
- Democrats unanimously rejected amendments that sought to curtail China’s influence over American goods and industry.
Veterans’ Affairs Committee – The VA has repeatedly said over the last year that theDepartment did not need additional funding.
- Provides the VA $17 billion, despite over $10 billion of CARES Act funding that remains unspent.
- Thirteen targeted amendments that would enhance COVID-19 emergency funding for veterans were all rejected by Democrats.
Ways & Means Committee – This partisan package doesn’t focus on crushing the virus or rebuilding the economy.
- Includes $400 a week federal unemployment through August, costing approximately $260 billion.
- Despite projections for economic growth, the bill provides a third round of stimulus checks costing more than $422 billion.
- Provides a federal bailout of multi-employer pensions.
- Includes expensive and ineffective health coverage policies that altogether cost about $53 billion and only reduce the number of uninsured Americans by 800,000 in 2021, 1.3 million in 2022 and 400,000 in 2023, according to CBO.
- Worsens the already flawed structure of the ACA’s subsidies by dramatically increasing government spending and creating new inequities by ignoring the actual income of certain enrollees and giving them free coverage.
The Response
- Scalise, AFP: We already went ‘big’ on coronavirus relief. More of the same won’t solve the problem. (Washington Post Opinion)
- House COVID bill includes over $100 million for controversial Silicon Valley underground rail project (Fox Business)
- ‘Way outside of the need’: Strong state finances suggest pricey Biden relief package is overkill (Washington Examiner)
- Democrats would delay school COVID-19 spending, threatening reopening (Washington Examiner Opinion)
- Rep. Steve Scalise: School reopening requirement should be tied to COVID-19 relief bill (Washington Times)
- Steve Scalise: Dems’ $1.9T stimulus bill is ‘really devastating for America’ (Fox News)
- The Non-Covid Spending Blowout (WSJ Opinion)
- Biden Goes Party Line on $1.9 Trillion (WSJ Opinion)
BOTTOM LINE: With this partisan budget reconciliation maneuver, President Biden is demonstrating that he intends to govern only in Democrats’ best interests. Congress should reject this partisan spending bill and get to work on serious, bipartisan solutions for the challenges hardworking Americans are facing.