Biden’s Bailout Bill

Biden’s Bailout Bill, the $1.9 trillion gift to leftist priorities that’s masquerading as COVID-19 relief legislation, recently passed the Senate. It’s full of payoffs, state bailouts, and rewards for those fortunate enough to work in the federal bureaucracy – all at the expense of the American taxpayer. Here are the realities of this bill that does nothing more than provide funding for a progressive wish list:

• Cuts healthcare for seniors on Medicare:
  • Under Statutory PAYGO, the plan will cause an approximately $36 billion cut to the Medicare program every year starting in 2022 and continuing for the next 10 years
• Includes $350 billion to bail out locked-down liberal states and fund pet infrastructure projects
• The sneaky formula used by Democrats ensures most of the money goes to liberals in California and New York rather than to rural communities
• The bill helps progressives reward their political friends by allowing states and localities receiving bailout funds to transfer these taxpayer dollars to nonprofits with no oversight requirements or guardrails on how the funds should be used
• Hurts American Jobs – Spends about $400 Billion on policies which REDUCE employment:
  • 21% of total bill cost is on policies which directly hurt job creation
  • Unemployment insurance expansion would mean almost 40 percent of Americans would earn more from unemployment benefits than from work
  • Enhances Obamacare subsidies which leads to fewer hours worked
  • Establishes a form of universal basic income which can lead to fewer hours worked
  • Hundreds of billions to state governments to continue to reward job killing lockdowns
• Less than 9% of the $1.9 trillion plan goes to crushing COVID-19 through public health spending (such as a national vaccination program, tracking, and more testing)
• Billions more in foreign aid on top of the more than $30 billion enacted just in December
• Only 5% of the $130 billion for K-12 schools is actually spent in FY21
• Spends $570 million to provide additional paid leave to federal bureaucrats so they can stay home with children who have remote school while the rest of America is left with the consequences of continued school closures
• Meanwhile, some Americans without a cushy federal job get a one-time stimulus check of $1,400
• This bailout is completely unnecessary. The U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of the Inspector General says $46 billion in CARES Act funding provided to states and localities remains to be spent.
• Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office is projecting a stronger economy for 2021 without additional stimulus

Sources: Committee on Oversight and Reform; House Budget Republicans