Issa Opposes House COVID Bill That Doesn't Reopen Schools, Help Americans Get Back to Work
Statement
Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) released the following statement regarding his opposition to the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer COVID plan:
"As a fundamental matter, there is extraordinarily broad consensus in Congress for sensible and bipartisan COVID relief.
There was consensus for relief last year as well, although mistakes were made. Many who needed aid the most were shut out. Preferred special interests were allowed to keep operating, while thousands of small businesses with no connections had their doors shut. Many will never reopen. This is unacceptable.
This year is an opportunity to get it right. But that did not happen here. The partisan Biden-Pelosi-Schumer "Relief Package" the House approved today is more package than relief.
The $1.9 trillion bill is no doubt too big and too expensive, but that is not the worst of it. This bill contains no coherent commitment to open up our economy, get our fellow Americans back to work and get our kids back in school where they belong.
That's the most disturbing part of all. As it stands right now, all this money and all these pages won't reopen our economy and schools any sooner. This is because there isn't any real sense of urgency in the bill. It is not intended to help our kids catch up in 2021, or even 2022.
How do we know? Because the vast majority of funds that the Biden Administration has earmarked for schools is to be spent three and four years from now. This week, they even admitted that from the White House podium. I've come to expect inefficiency and excess when it comes to government spending. But this is so much worse than that. Desperate families will think relief is on the way. It isn't.
I cannot support this legislation in this form. It won't deliver on its promises and I am concerned that it may even do more harm than good. This bill doesn't just contain wasteful spending -- it cements a waste of time so many Americans don't have.
COVID relief should be focused on helping people get vaccinated this year, get back to work this year and get back to school this year. We could pass such a measure, in a bipartisan way."
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