KEY VOTE: “NO” on H.R. 8406, the Heroes Act

This week, the House will vote on H.R. 8406, The Heroes Act, which is the latest attempt by the Left to push their radical agenda during a pandemic and increase the burden on the backs of the American taxpayer. Congress has already passed nearly $3 trillion worth of relief—a substantial amount of which has not been spent—and allowed the Federal Reserve to spend even more to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This massive, 2100 page, $2.2 trillion dollar package is not only irresponsible, it's completely unnecessary.

By advancing this package, Democrats are prioritizing bailouts for mismanaged state budgets plagued by underfunded pension plans, subsidies to give unemployed workers a raise and disincentivize work, an expansion of Obamacare, real estate tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, marijuana businesses over small businesses, and free passes for illegal aliens.

Perhaps most egregiously, Democrats are also using this crisis to continue their assault on law enforcement. The latest version of the Heroes Act removes $600 million in Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants that Democrats had included in March before they embraced the radical Left’s calls to defund police departments. Instead, they prioritized funds for the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which will do nothing to ensure the safety and security of all Americans.

This is a radical transformation of the American economy and way of life to more closely align with socialist dreams—not a targeted economic recovery package to help everyday Americans climb out of a recession.

While there is no shortage of bad provisions in the bill some of the more egregious provisions include:

• $436 billion in state and local bailouts
• Revives the $600 bonus unemployment benefit
• A second round of $1,200 stimulus checks
• Lacks legal protection for businesses, schools, and churches wishing to re-open
• Removes restrictions on Planned Parenthood’s use of PPP funds
• Extends the Census deadlines into the next Administration, including Congressional apportionment
• $15 billion bailout of USPS
• $25 billion in airline bailouts
• Fails to provide flexibility for funding already allocated to schools to handle the crisis, and adds an additional $225 billion in spending

From the beginning of the pandemic, Heritage has continually stressed that any COVID relief should be targeted, temporary, and directly related to the pandemic. However, this package fails to adhere to those guidelines and is yet another example of the Left’s unwillingness to put aside partisan politics for the good of America.

Additional Resources

• State Bankruptcy Is Irrelevant to COVID-19: And Bailouts Aren’t the Answer
• Why Stimulus Spending Never Works
• One Botched CARES Act Bailout for Airports Is More Than Enough
• Coronavirus Aid for Travel Industry: Prepayments, Tax Relief, Not Bailouts
• The U.S. Postal Service Needs Big Reforms, Not a Big Check
• Congress, Don’t Re-Up the $600 Unemployment Benefit. Try This Instead
• In COVID-19 Bill, Schools Need Funding Flexibility, Not Another Federal Bailout
• The Federal Reserve Should Not Help Congress Duck Its Responsibilities: Part 2