Heritage Action opposes The “American Rescue Plan Act” (H.R. 1319) and will include it as a key vote on our legislative scorecard.
This week, the House will be voting on H.R. 1319, a massive $1.9 trillion stimulus package that does little to address the ongoing pandemic directly. For nearly a year, conservatives have insisted that any COVID relief should be targeted and temporary without bailing out wasteful governments. This bill has missed the mark on all points.
To date, Congress has already approved more than $4 trillion in response to the pandemic. In fact, a $900 billion package was signed into law less than two months ago, and a large portion of that funding remains unused or in the process of being distributed. Now is not the time to continue recklessly spending and running up our nation’s debt, which currently sits just below $28 trillion.
Despite the massive price tag, this bill does little to combat COVID and reads more like a radical left wishlist that hopes to remake America. The legislation includes an additional $350 billion to bail out state and local governments, regardless of tax revenue and previously allocated relief funds. As the Heritage Foundation points out, previously provided aid is 16 times more than 2020 state and local revenue losses and twice as much as the expected 2020 and 2021 combined losses. Providing them with additional funding is an unnecessary and irresponsible use of Americans’ tax dollars. The bill also includes $130 billion for K-12 school funding without requiring those schools to be open—leaving unanswered questions as to what exactly the money funds.
Furthermore, the bill contradicts its own goal of “tackling the economic crisis” by inserting job-killing policies such as increasing the minimum wage to $15. This policy will counterproductively destroy jobs and is cruel to those already struggling through a pandemic. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), raising the minimum wage to $15 will put 1.4 million Americans out of work and lead to a price increase for many goods and services that working families are already struggling to afford. According to Rachel Greszler of the Heritage Foundation, this could also mean an increase in annual childcare costs by as much as $3,700.
In addition to the egregious provisions detailed above, the bill would also provide another round of stimulus checks, higher supplemental federal unemployment assistance, and an expansion of the child tax credit. These provisions constitute the majority of the package’s $1.9 trillion price tag.
The bottom line is another massive stimulus package simply isn’t needed. Congress has been spending money at an unsustainable pace, and it's more important than ever that any additional funding should focus on combating the virus and opening American businesses, society, and schools. Members should reject this proposal.
Heritage Action opposes The “American Rescue Plan Act” (H.R. 1319) and will include it as a key vote on our legislative scorecard.