After our government destroyed the economy, crippled small businesses, trapped people in their homes, and impoverished the country as part of their ineffective attempts to fight the coronavirus, they decided to make it up to the American people by giving them $600 of their own money back. The 5,593-page document that members of Congress were only given hours to read also provided an extra 11 weeks of unemployment insurance along with a supplemental $300 per week.
In the House, the COVID relief bill and a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the government were voted on separately, but in the Senate, those bills were combined.
$600 is a slap in the face to every American struggling due to the pandemic. You deserve better.
I voted against the 5,593-page spending bill that gave billions to corporate interests, the military industrial complex & other countries, leaving crumbs for you who need help most. pic.twitter.com/82F1HYF43T
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) December 22, 2020
Apparently, they couldn’t get Senators to vote to give a meager $600 to Americans they put out of work unless the bill also included things like 700 million dollars for Sudan, making “illegal” streaming a felony, and 10 million dollars for gender programs in Pakistan. Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. People are still digging all sorts of ridiculous things out of the bill.
The Democrat “Stimulus” Bill contains funding for an investigation into the 1908 Springfield Race Riot
Congress is spending more money to investigate a 112-year-old riot than they are to help an American whose been out of work for 10 months. Think about that.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) December 22, 2020
After Congress passes an Omnibus, we find out what was really in it. Yesterday’s bill included:
– $14 million for the Kennedy Center
– $10 million for gender programs in Pakistan
– $4 million pilot program to kill murder hornets
– A tax break for racehorse owners
— Congressman Michael Cloud (@RepCloudTX) December 22, 2020
Let me just note that real problem #1 is not that they only sent Americans $600, it’s that the government knowingly and deliberately crushed small businesses, forced people out of work, made it impossible for people to earn a living, and THEN offered them $600. People didn’t need $600, they needed to be allowed to go to work.
Next, the idea that members of Congress should be given hours to read bills thousands of pages long, that were negotiated in secret, is insane. In that situation, every member of Congress should always be an automatic “no.” It’s not as if they’re going to secretly put term limits and a hard cap on the deficit in there, it’s always going to pork and controversial stuff they couldn’t normally get through.
Deficit busting bill will be 5,593 pages!
If 250 words per page, then that’s 1,398,250 words
If Congresspeople read at the American average of 300 words/min (a big assumption)
then a Congressperson might read this in 4,660 minutes or 77.68 hours!
(if no rest breaks)
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 21, 2020
This whole bill is a disgrace and a slap in the face of the American people. It also shouldn’t escape anyone’s notice that this was done right after the elections ended. All those politicians cater to you for a year, but the second they get past the election, their attitude is “screw you and drop dead” until it’s time for them to campaign again. Don’t ever forget who these people really are and what they think of you.
It baffles me that people watch how poorly Congress handles something as simple as a COVID relief bill and still think it’d be a good idea for the government to run our healthcare system
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) December 22, 2020
This content was originally published here.