On Monday, a new analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that the Democrats’ COVID-19 bill contains at least $312 billion in policies that have little or nothing to do with the virus.
The Committee’s analysis notes that the bill “is much larger than the needs of the economy, much of its spending is poorly targeted, it includes a number of measures unrelated to the COVID pandemic and economic crisis, and it would abruptly cut off aid to unemployed workers at the end of August.”
NEW: A @BudgetHawks report exposes Democrats' $1.9 TRILLION "COVID" legislation…
➡️ Only 1% goes to vaccines
➡️ Only 5% goes to public healthMeanwhile, hundreds of billions go to liberal policies & bailouts that will infuriate you.
READ MORE ⤵️https://t.co/eqE9eJTYrB
— Brad Polumbo ??⚽️ ?️? (@brad_polumbo) February 18, 2021
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Committee: ‘At Least $312 Billion Of Policies That Have Little To Do With The Current Crisis’
The statement also read that the Democratic legislation contains “at least $312 billion of policies that have little to do with the current crisis.”
The nonprofit and non-partisan Committee wrote, “Among the unrelated provisions are a pension bailout; expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and the child care tax credit; an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour; and Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansions.”
Since these policies are unrelated to the ongoing pandemic, the group determined that they “should be subject to normal pay-as-you-go [PAYGO] rules, which means each policy should either be fully offset with new revenue or spending reductions to cover its cost.”
In January, House Democrats established a rule that eliminated PAYGO restrictions on COVID-19 spending and also spending related to climate.
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, @BudgetHawks, taking aim at the Biden relief bill, slams it for "losing focus" with proposed expansions to child and earning income tax credits, as well as minimum wage hike and ACA subsidies
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) February 17, 2021
Breaking Down The Non-COVID-Related Policies And Numbers
This makes it easier to spend at will without cutting other parts of the budget.
Some of the spending in the coronavirus bill include, “Expand Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,000 ($3,600 for children under age 6) and make it fully refundable for one year.”
Total cost: $110 billion.
“Expand Earned Income Tax Credit to childless adults for one year, tripling the credit, and include those aged 19-24 and over 65. Permanently allow recipients to have more investment income and expand the EITC in territories”
Total cost: $23 billion.
“Expand Child Care and Dependent Care Tax Credit to $4,000 ($8,000 for 2 or more children) for one year.”
Total cost: $8 billion.
“Provide grants to multi-employer pension plans and change single-employer pension funding rules.”
Total cost: $58 billion.
“Increase federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025.”
Total cost: $44 billion.
“Expand Affordable Care Act subsidies by reducing the maximum cost of insurance plans.”
Total cost: $34 billion.
“Increase base Medicaid match to states that newly expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.”
Total cost: $16 billion.
“Allow states to expand Medicaid coverage for prisoners close to release and for pregnant and postpartum women for 5 years.”
Total cost: $9 billion.
A good start for the President: pretty specific criticism of the package from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget -> https://t.co/b18155c70d https://t.co/wVZvxjn7qk
— Joe Gierut (@Joe_Gierut) February 19, 2021
Again, what does any of this have anything to do with helping Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic? It’s just Democrats loading up a COVID-19 relief bill with government goodies.
The Democrats’ bill, “would spend too much and would poorly target most of its spending relative to actual needs,” according to the Committee.
This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.
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