WASHINGTON, D.C.—The House of Representatives voted on Senate Democrats’ version of the budget reconciliation bill today. The so-called “American Rescue Plan” totals $1.9 trillion dollars and features bail outs for failing state pension funds, Amtrak, and closed public schools.

During the budget reconciliation process, Democrats refused to require schools that receive additional funds to return to the classroom and favored liberal urban centers over rural communities when allocating funds to municipalities. Meanwhile, only nine percent of the nearly $2 trillion bill addresses the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to these progressive priorities, the bill spends hundreds of millions on foreign food aid, environmental justice, and wasteful spending on the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, with limited funding going to expedite vaccinations.

Ohio Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) made the following statement after voting against the bill:

““This bill is not about providing Americans with relief from the COVID 19 pandemic. This bill is about Speaker Pelosi and President Biden paying off their supporters. Republicans have repeatedly said that COVID relief should be targeted at addressing the problems presented by the pandemic. Instead, Democrats have used this bill to target taxpayer funded bailouts to poorly run blue states and labor unions, while funding abortion on-demand.
“As a veteran, I’m dedicated to making sure America keeps its promises to veterans. We serve knowing we may be called upon to sacrifice everything. The very least Congress can do is fulfill America’s end of the bargain. In the age of COVID, veterans and their families deserve this reassurance.”

“The only thing that’s bipartisan about this bill is the opposition to it. Republicans and the Trump Administration offered to meet Democrats in the middle on COVID relief in 2020, and Speaker Pelosi rejected a compromise to get Americans relief sooner. Instead she prolonged Americans’ suffering so she could ram this partisan false flag operation down American throats, bankrupting the nation in the process.”