H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, would follow the precedent set in 2020 of spending multiple trillions of dollars within one year on unconstitutional programs in the name of coronavirus relief. As summarized by a Treasury Department fact sheet posted after the House and Senate had approved the $1.9 trillion spending bill, 90 million Americans would receive more than $242 billion in direct payments ($1,400 for individuals, $2,800 for married couples, and $1,400 for each dependent); families would receive $3,600 for children under age six, and $3,000 for other children under age 18; state and local governments would receive $325 billion in emergency direct payments; states, territories, and tribes would receive $10 billion for capital projects; etc.
The Senate passed H.R. 1319 on March 6, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 110). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded annual federal deficits of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 and an expected $3.0 trillion in 2021. Moreover, virtually all of the coronavirus aid provisions, including direct checks, federal unemployment benefits, and subsidization of the economy, are unconstitutional.
