Man Sentenced After Buying Homes, Luxury Cars With $24 Million In Fraudulently Obtained COVID Relief
‘These programs are here to help during a pandemic’
Sen. Marsha Blackburn opposes $2,000 stimulus payments, warns of 'pathway' to 'guaranteed minimum income'
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Monday declared her opposition to a plan to increase $600 stimulus payments to Americans who qualify to $2,000, warning that such handouts could lead to "guaranteed minimum income."
Blackburn, speaking on Fox Business Network, criticized Democrats for refusing to compromise with Republicans over the summer and into the fall to extend increased $300 weekly unemployment benefits.
"You could've had a lot more money than $2,000 in the pocket of hard-working Americans," Blackburn said. "Now, we know that what the Democrats are trying to do with this is to put us on a pathway to a guaranteed the minimum income, which is one of their socialist agenda items."
On Monday, House Democrats rushed to pass a bill to amend the COVID-19 relief package in the omnibus spending bill signed by President Donald Trump, increasing direct payments to many Americans from $600 to $2,000 per individual. President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind the measure, but while there are several Republican senators who support the increase, like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), there are still those like Blackburn who are wary of having the government send direct payments to people instead of more targeted relief.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday asked for the unanimous consent of the Senate to hold an up or down vote on the payment increase, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected, blocking the bill for now.
Blackburn criticized the omnibus bill's "wasteful spending" and accused Democrats of dragging their feet on economic stimulus measures prior to the election to increase their chances of winning.
"We also know that President Trump is frustrated, as am I, by a lot of the wasteful spending that is in the budget that was passed, the omnibus spending bill," Blackburn said. "And I think it is just so insulting to American citizens that [Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi even admitted — I mean, she came out and admitted that she had delayed getting this money to individuals through … unemployment insurance, because it benefited them politically to wait and do it until after the election."
Host Gregg Jarrett, filling in for Lou Dobbs, asked Blackburn if it was a "bad look" for Republicans to oppose stimulus check payments while Americans face economic hardship during the pandemic.
"The aid has been delayed, and aid should be targeted, it should be temporary, it should be there when people need it," Blackburn replied. "And see, what the Democrats did was to delay it and prohibit it and they didn't want to do the things that were necessary to create the very best stimulus.
"The best stimulus is a job," she continued. "But they don't want to open the economy, they don't want to get children back to school. They would prefer to keep people locked in their houses and out of work" until there are widespread vaccinations for coronavirus.
Marsha Blackburn warns Biden will raise taxes if GOP loses the Senate www.youtube.com
Schumer hits Republicans for $600 stimulus checks, doesn't mention all the offers to pass $1,200 checks he ignored
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked a request from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to increase coronavirus stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 with unanimous consent from the Senate.
Before signing the next coronavirus stimulus package into law, President Donald Trump asked Congress to increase the direct payments to Americans.
"I simply want to get our great people $2,000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill," Trump tweeted on Dec. 26.
In response, Democrats in the House of Representatives on Monday passed the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help Act, or CASH Act, a bill to increase the direct payments by providing $2,000 per individual making under $75,000 and $4,000 for couples making under $150,000. In a statement given on why he would sign the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill that was paired with $900 billion in coronavirus relief, the president said that the Senate would "start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000."
On Tuesday, Schumer attempted to fast-track the CASH Act by requesting the unanimous consent of the Senate to hold an up or down vote on the bill.
Schumer: "An overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House supports $2k checks.Senate Democrats strongly support… https://t.co/Zrp75FWUjL— The Hill (@The Hill)1609263827.0
"The fastest way to get money into Americans' pockets is to send some of their tax dollars right back from where they came," Schumer said. "$2,000 stimulus checks could mean the difference between American families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry. The difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home that you've lived in for years. It could buy precious time for tens of millions of people as the vaccine thankfully makes its way across the country."
During his remarks, he chastised Republicans for taking so long to consider an additional round of stimulus payments to Americans and criticized the initial compromise value of $600 checks.
"Of course, we could have taken up this issue weeks ago," Schumer claimed. "In the COIVD bill Congress just passed, Democrats wanted generous direct payments to the American people. Speaker Pelosi and I repeatedly asked our Republican counterparts how much they could support. Their answer? $600."
"$600 was the most Republicans would support," Schumer charged. But the Democratic leader did not mention several opportunities Republicans gave Democrats to advance direct economic relief payments to Americans with additional relief provisions.
When Republicans introduced their $1 trillion economic stimulus bill on July 29, Schumer declared his opposition to the bill — which included $1,200 stimulus checks — saying the GOP bill did not go far enough and demanding billions of dollars more to bail out state and local governments facing budget shortfalls. A day later, when Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced a competing stand-alone bill to provide $1,200 stimulus payments, Schumer ignored the legislation and it never advanced in the Senate. Additionally, when President Trump in October offered to sign a clean "Stand Alone Bill" for stimulus checks, Democratic leaders in Congress rebuffed the president's offer.
Now, Schumer says that passing the CASH Act is "the only way to deliver these stimulus checks before the end of session."
McConnell objected to Schumer's request, noting that the president also asked the Senate to consider reforms to Section 230's protections for big tech companies and additional election-related items.
"Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. This week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus," McConnell said, seeming to indicate that the Senate will take up these issues at a later time.
Nancy Pelosi claims 'faith-oriented' members of Congress told her they 'don't believe in science' as she rewrites history of Trump's COVID response
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday claimed that some "faith-oriented" members of Congress have told her that because of their faith, they "don't believe in science."
In a speech on the House floor in support of the $900 billion coronavirus stimulus bill Congress is expected to pass, the California Democrat accused the Trump administration of pursuing a "herd immunity" strategy to combat COVID-19, which she described as "quackery," and suggested that some government officials and members of Congress were anti-science because of their faith.
"We couldn't pass legislation until now because the administration simply did not believe in testing, tracing, treatment, wearing masks, sanitation, separation, and the rest," Pelosi asserted.
"It has become clear to us now that they believed in herd immunity, quackery, springing right from the Oval Office and not denied sufficiently by some of the CDC and the rest," she said. "So, now we have a vaccine and that gives us hope. A vaccine that springs from science."
"People say around here sometimes, 'I'm faith-oriented so I don't believe in science' and I said, 'Well you can do both. Science is an answer to our prayers and our prayers have been answered with a vaccine,'" she continued.
She went on to say the stimulus legislation advanced by Congress will ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed "fair, and equitable, and free."
.@SpeakerPelosi on Republicans & the Covid vaccine: "People say around here sometimes, 'I’m faith-oriented so I don… https://t.co/qddlnaupfC— Tom Elliott (@Tom Elliott)1608560298.0
Reporting for National Review, Brittany Bernstein observed that Pelosi appeared to refer to a recent Politico report about July emails in which a Trump administration official within the Department of Health and Human Services advocated for a herd immunity strategy to end the coronavirus pandemic.
"There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD," former science adviser Paul Alexander wrote to HHS Assistant Secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo and six other officials in a July 4 email.
"Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk ... so we use them to develop herd ... we want them infected," Alexander added.
Despite Pelosi's assertions, there is no evidence to suggest that the Trump administration followed through with a herd-immunity strategy. Politico's report noted that HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified in October that "herd immunity is not the strategy of the U.S. government with regard to coronavirus."
The administration has supported testing and contact tracing, accelerated development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment through Operation Warp Speed, and consistently encouraged mask wearing and proper social distancing through CDC guidelines.
President Donald Trump has also for months called on Congress to pass additional stimulus and coronavirus relief as Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were unable to come to a bipartisan agreement before the U.S. presidential election. In October, Trump offered to sign a stand-alone bill for $1,200 stimulus checks for every American, which Pelosi neglected to act upon.
In fact, Pelosi entirely dismissed the possibility of passing a stimulus bill that fell short of Democratic demands for a roughly $2.2 trillion spending package, even rejecting a compromise supported by 100 Democrats in August.
Now that the election is over and Joe Biden is president-elect, Pelosi is proclaiming victory for securing $900 billion in coronavirus relief Congress will pass as part of a 5,593-page $1.4 trillion spending bill no lawmakers have had time to read.
Axios reported the text of the omnibus spending bill when it was released Friday. The bill includes:
- $600 stimulus checks per adult and child;
- $300 per week of renewed unemployment insurance for 11 weeks;
- $319 billion in small business relief;
- $25 billion for rental assistance, with the moratorium on evictions extended;
- $13 billion in increased food stamp benefits;
- $82 billion in education funding, with $10 billion allocated for childcare;
- $7 billion for increased access to broadband; and
- And billions more for COVID vaccine distribution and testing.
Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson blocks new $1,200 stimulus checks, argues for more 'targeted' coronavirus relief
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Friday blocked an effort by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to pass a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans, arguing for more "targeted" relief to help Americans struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hawley and Sanders had asked for the unanimous consent of the Senate to pass a bill providing another one-time payment of $1,200 to individuals earning less than $75,000, using the CARES Act stimulus bill Congress passed in March as a model for their legislation. Johnson supported that effort in March, but now says Congress cannot ignore the growing national debt and should work harder to ensure stimulus money has its intended effect.
Acknowledging the need for Congress to provide financial support to businesses and families in need "through no fault of their own," Johnson criticized the "shogun approach" of the proposed relief package and called for more "targeted" relief.
"One of the reasons we are $27.4 trillion in debt is we only speak about need, we only talk in terms of compassion — we all have compassion, we all want to fulfill those needs — we don't talk in numbers very often. We don't analyze the data. We don't take a look at what we did in the past and see, did it work? Or didn't it work?" Johnson said on the Senate floor.
"We will not have learned the lessons from our very hurried, very rushed, very massive, earlier relief packages. We're just going to do more of the same, another trillion dollars. It takes our debt from $27.4 trillion to $28.4 trillion in a couple months. With doing virtually no revisions, no improvements," he warned.
Sen. Ron Johnson: "One of the reasons we are currently $27.4 trillion in debt is we only speak about need, we only… https://t.co/ltAe1EeHhO— The Hill (@The Hill)1608318697.0
The current stimulus package being considered by the Senate would cost about $900 billion, Axios reported. Johnson raised concerns about how Congress is "mortgaging our children's future."
He noted that the last round of "economic impact payments" to Americans cost about $275 billion and sent checks to 115 million households at a time when 25 million people were unemployed.
"That was about 4.5 [times] more households than the number of jobs lost," Johnson said, going on to explain that the Hawley-Sanders bill would provide payments to a number of households 12.6 times greater than the 9 million Americans currently unemployed.
"I think it's important to ask, well, how was that money spent? Was it really spent on essentials? Was this money really needed? Was there any hope of actually that money being stimulative to our economy?" Johnson asked.
He cited a study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued on Oct. 13, 2020, that surveyed American households and found that only 18% of the stimulus check funds was spent on essential items, 8% was spent on nonessential items, and 3% was donated for a total of 29%, which the study called the "marginal propensity to consume."
Most households, Johnson said, either saved the stimulus money or used it to pay off debt. The survey also asked respondents what they would do with another $1,500 check and only about 24% would spend or donate the money while the remaining 76% would use the funds for savings or debt repayment.
"I don't think you can take a look at these direct payments to individuals as stimulative," Johnson argued. "Obviously, 18%-24% is spent on essential items. We ought to figure out how to provide that money so people can spend it on essentials."
After Johnson concluded speaking, Hawley rose to respond, saying, "Nothing could be more targeted, no relief could be more important than relief for working people."
"What I'm proposing is what every senator has supported already," Hawley continued. "What I'm proposing will give working folks in my state and across the country a shot … at getting back up on their feet."
Sen. @HawleyMO responds to @SenRonJohnson objecting to his unanimous consent for $1,200 stimulus checks:"Working… https://t.co/eyShKrazpj— Daily Caller (@Daily Caller)1608313267.0
This debate over direct stimulus payments is occurring under the backdrop of a potential government shutdown that will happen if Congress does not pass new spending legislation before midnight. Democrats and Republicans are negotiating on a continuing resolution to keep the government open, with the central conflict between the parties being what additional coronavirus relief should look like. One compromise currently under consideration is smaller $600 direct payments, half of what Hawley and Sanders have proposed, in addition to small business funding and an extended $300 federal unemployment benefit.
The Daily Caller reported that after Hawley finished speaking, he walked out of the Senate chamber and told reporters he would not allow a government funding bill to pass until he's assured there are direct payments to Americans included.
"I'm not going to allow a [continuing resolution] to go through until I know what's actually in the package," Hawley said. "It'd better include direct assistance at a substantial level."
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