House GOP leader McCarthy reportedly nixes Pelosi’s attempt to pass $2,000 payments by unanimous consent

National Review

Why Six Senate Republicans Voted against the COVID Relief Bill

Congress on Monday night time handed a $900 billion coronavirus reduction package deal after months of political gridlock, with the Senate almost unanimously voting in favor of the measure, save for six Republican senators.The 5,593-page invoice handily handed within the House 359-53 earlier than being authorised by the Senate 92-6. The six votes towards the measure got here from Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Rand Paul (Ky.) Rick Scott (Fla.), Ron Johnson (Wisc.), Mike Lee (Utah) and Ted Cruz (Texas).The six senators have been largely essential of the monetary and bodily scale of the invoice.Paul known as the invoice a “spending monstrosity” saying “so-called conservatives” who vote for the measure could be no higher than socialist Democrats.”When you vote to pass out free money, you lose your soul and you abandon forever any semblance of moral or fiscal integrity,” he mentioned.He as a substitute supported opening the financial system and trimming wasteful spending within the price range so as to cease creating extra debt for future generations.Johnson equally mentioned in a press release that the federal government does “not have an unlimited checking account.””We must spend federal dollars — money we are borrowing from future generations — more carefully and place limits on how much we are mortgaging our children’s future.”He clarified that whereas he supported the sweeping CARES Act within the spring as swift, large motion was wanted then to “prevent an economic meltdown,” that this time round he wished to take a extra focused strategy; In September he proposed a smaller $600 billion reduction invoice.Scott additionally pushed towards the “massive omnibus spending bill that mortgages our kids & grandkid’s futures.”> We should assist Americans & small companies in want however we will’t preserve working this manner. > > Once once more, in basic Washington fashion, very important applications are hooked up to a large omnibus spending invoice that mortgages our children & grandkid’s futures. Therefore, I can’t assist this invoice. pic.twitter.com/poShVDXzHb> > — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 21, 2020He mentioned in a tweet he wouldn’t assist the invoice, including in a press release that “Washington doesn’t seem to understand that new spending today will be paid for by increased federal debt and result in a tax increase on families down the road.” “The easy route is simply to go along as Congress continues to do harm to future generations of Americans, but I will not be a part of it,” he mentioned.However, Johnson mentioned that whereas he was “glad a government shutdown was avoided and that financial relief will finally reach many who truly need it,” he was essential of the “dysfunction” of the method.”The dysfunction of Washington, D.C. was on full display as Congress combined covid relief with a massive omnibus spending bill three months past the deadline and into the current fiscal year,” Johnson mentioned. “This monstrosity was 5,593 pages long, and passed only nine hours after the Senate first saw it.””I simply could not support this dysfunction, so I voted no,” he mentioned.Cruz and Lee additionally pushed again towards lawmakers being given simply hours to learn a number of thousand pages of laws.In response to a tweet by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), through which the progressive lawmaker lamented having to vote on the invoice with out receiving enough time to evaluation it, Cruz agreed that the method is “absurd.””It’s ABSURD to have a $2.5 trillion spending bill negotiated in secret and then—hours later—demand an up-or-down vote on a bill nobody has had time to read,” Cruz tweeted.> [email protected] is correct.> > It’s ABSURD to have a $2.5 trillion spending invoice negotiated in secret after which—hours later—demand an up-or-down vote on a invoice no person has had time to learn. CongressIsBroken https://t.co/EQp8BfRBHj> > — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 21, 2020Lee echoed these criticisms, posting a video to Twitter through which he confirmed how lengthy it took simply to print the invoice: three minutes for simply the primary 100 pages of the huge invoice.”Because of the length it is impossible that anyone will have the opportunity to read it between now and the time that we will vote,” Lee mentioned within the video. “And I am absolutely certain that this has been cobbled together by a very small handful of members of Congress and their staffs and to the exclusion of 98% of members of Congress of both political parties in both houses.””This process, by which members of Congress are asked to defer blindly to legislation negotiated entirely in secret by four of their colleagues, must come to an end,” he mentioned.> 1/4 This is the spending invoice into account in Congress immediately. I obtained it simply moments in the past, and can seemingly be requested to vote on it late tonight. It’s 5,593 pages lengthy. I do know there are some good issues in it. I’m equally assured that there are unhealthy issues in it. pic.twitter.com/SoWXnEWYfV> > — Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 21, 2020Cruz and Blackburn additionally criticized among the funding areas that had made their manner into the $1.4 trillion spending invoice with which the COVID reduction laws was bundled. Cruz mentioned the invoice “advances the interests of the radical Left, special interests, and swamp lobbyists, with funding going towards expanding authority for more H-2B visas for foreign workers while a near record number of Americans remain unemployed[.]” It additionally units the stage “for Democrats to implement the ‘Green New Deal’ by claiming a ‘need’ to meet the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, or zero-emission energy sources,” he said.While Blackburn acknowledged that the legislation had a number of positives, including the development and distribution of vaccines, assistance to schools and help for small businesses, she said it came at too high a cost and included a number of measures she could not support.”I can not assist almost $2.4 trillion in spending that can make restoration even more durable,” she said in a statement. “I’ve critical issues with provisions buried within the 5,593 web page invoice, akin to expanded visas, Pell grants for prisoners, and households with unlawful aliens receiving financial impression payments. For these causes, I voted no on passage of this laws.”