One thing is certain about the new Chinese Virus relief bill that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced yesterday: At more than 1,800 pages, not a single congressman will read it to find out where all the “COVID-19 relief” money is going or how it will be spent.
As the nation’s top ice-cream aficianado said of the Affordable Care Act, Congress must pass the bill to find out what’s in it.
Here’s what’s in the mismonikered “Heroes” Bill: $3 trillion of welfare that will, if passed, immediately bring the national debt to nearly $30 trillion.
Megastate Welfare
The summary of the bill, as CNBC reported, is this:
• Nearly $1 trillion in relief for state and local governments
• A second round of direct payments of $1,200 per person, and up to $6,000 for a household
• About $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers who face heightened health risks during the crisis
• $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing — a key effort to restart businesses
• An extension of the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit through January (the provision approved in March is set to expire after July)
• $175 billion in rent, mortgage and utility assistance
But that synopsis doesn’t quite do it justice given its long lines of zeroes. The bill is packed with appropriations unrelated to virus relief or fighting the pandemic, and some others of at least suspicious intent:
• $3.6 billion to the states for elections;
• $400 million for “periodic censuses;”
• $200 million for the Justice Department’s virus testing, hygiene equipment, etc.;
• $300 million for law enforcement to stop the virus in prisons;
• $300 million for “community oriented policing programs;”
• $100 million for Indian “fishery participants;”
• $100 million for “violence against women” programs;
• $50 million for the subversive Legal Services Corporation;
• $35 million for salaries and expenses at the Treasury Dept. to monitor virus relief
• $24 million for the Federal Communications Commission.
We all know that we must put more money in the pockets of the American people. This is not only necessary for their survival, but it is also a stimulus to the economy. Direct payments, Unemployment Insurance, rental and mortgage help and food and student loan assistance, among other things, are essential to relieve the fear that many families are facing.
The Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank has told us to “Think Big” because interest rates are so low. The low interest rate and the prospect of access to credit has bolstered the stock market. We intend to use those interest rates to bolster the American people.
We must “Think Big” For The People now because if we don’t, it will cost more in lives and livelihood later. Not acting is the most expensive course. We are presenting a plan to do what is necessary to deal with the coronavirus crisis and make sure we can get the country back to work and school safely. We have a goal. We have benchmarks. And we have the science to succeed.
How much “science” Pelosi understands is questionable.
As the Asiatic pathogen began its deadly march in February, Pelosi urged tourists and San Franciscans to pack the city’s Chinatown.
“Come to Chinatown,” said the woman who thinks Trump blew the U.S. response to the pandemic when it began. “We think it’s very safe to be in Chinatown…. Don’t be afraid. Enjoy it all. It’s beautiful and there are some good bargains here now, so it’s a good time to come.”
Debt Clock
The U.S. Debt Clock offers a glimpse into what Pelosi and leaders and members of both parties have done to the financial future of the country. Household and total national assets are dropping at a rate of about $24 million a minute.
As for the debt itself, Americans owe $25.1 trillion:
• Debt per taxpayer: $202,531
• Debt per citizen: $75,316
• State and local debt: $3.2 trillion
• State and local debt per citizen: $9,931
Since March 1, 34 million people have applied for unemployment. When and if those unemployed return to work, the Internal Revenue Service will seize a significant portion of their income to pay the national debt, or as the case may be, hoke up another $3 trillion “virus relief” bill.
Taxpayers await another video of Pelosi showing off her $12-a-pint ice cream stash in her $24,000 refrigerator-freezer combo.
Image: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
R. Cort Kirkwood is a long-time contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor.
