After a marathon of political theatrics at yesterday’s vote-a-rama, Republican senators united against a budget resolution and with it, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
In response, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Spokesperson Bryan Doherty released the following statement:
“The Republican opposition to this resolution was nothing short of a sad attempt at partisan obstruction in the midst of an ongoing economic and public health catastrophe.
“Not only does President Biden’s American Rescue Plan contain the crucial relief, economic stimulus, and public health investments needed to end this pandemic and get our economy back better than before – it’s overwhelmingly popular with Americans of every political stripe.
“Last night, Republicans voted against direct stimulus checks for families struggling to put food on the table, housing assistance aimed to help families keep a roof over their heads, expanded unemployment insurance, money allocated for schools to safely get kids back in classrooms, and necessary investments in vaccine distribution and a national testing program.
“Fortunately, the Senate Republicans’ obstructionist sideshow was defeated and President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is well on it’s way to becoming a reality. But these Senators are going to have to answer for why they tried to prevent the American people from getting the relief we’ve desperately needed for far too long.”
Here’s what Republicans opposed in voting against the budget bill:
- STATE AND LOCAL AID: The American Rescue Plan allocates $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, including $20 billion for transit and $20 billion for tribal governments. $3 billion of this funding would go towards the Economic Development Administration for grant-making and to enable good-paying jobs. Republican Senators voted against including this funding in the budget, which is meant to support the first responders, essential workers, and educators who risk their lives to keep our communities safe, and to allow communities facing a wide range of needs to respond effectively to the pandemic.
- ECONOMIC RELIEF FOR STRUGGLING AMERICAN FAMILIES: The American Rescue Plan boosts direct stimulus payments for struggling Americans by $1,400 per person, and expands and extends unemployment insurance. Under the proposal, out-of-work Americans could access enhanced unemployment benefits through the end of September, including a weekly federal supplement of $400. Republican Senators voted against this lifeline for struggling Americans.
- RENTAL ASSISTANCE: President Biden’s proposal includes roughly $25 billion in rental support to help tenants and landlords with back rent, plus an additional $5 to cover water and energy bills. The plan also allocates $5 billion to help families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Republicans voted against this support, even though as many as 9.4 million renter households in the US owe back rent, utilities, and late fees — and are cumulatively $52.6 billion behind.
- FUNDING FOR K-12 SCHOOLS AND HIGHER EDUCATION: Biden’s plan includes $130 billion for K-12 schools, $35 billion for institutions of higher education, and another $5 billion for governors to put towards any level of education within their states. This money is critical for ensuring social distancing, closing budget gaps, avoiding lay-offs, hiring health staff, and investing in supplies like PPE to help schools weather the rest of the pandemic, and to get kids back to the classroom. Even though the Council of Chief State School Officers this summer estimated that schools would need as much as $245 billion to open safely, and even though the December relief package offered just about a fifth of that, Republicans voted against this aid.
- FUNDING FOR CHILD CARE PROVIDERS: The American Rescue Plan also includes $25 billion for child care providers. While many child care providers have closed during the pandemic, others have been forced to raise prices to offset the costs of adhering to safety guidelines, hiring additional staff and buying cleaning supplies. This financial burden has been shifted to families, the cost of care rising an average of 47% during the pandemic. Even though the American Rescue Plan would alleviate the financial stress on child-care providers and on American families, Republicans voted against this measure.
- THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT AND THE CHILD TAX CREDIT: The American Rescue Plan would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides low-income earners with additional income. It would also increase the child tax credit to about $3,000 per child (or $3,600 for children under six) and make the credit fully refundable for families with no tax liability. Even though Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimates that these measures and others could cut child poverty in half, Republican Senators voted against the budget resolution.
- FUNDING FOR VACCINES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION, TESTING, AND PANDEMIC RESPONSE: The American Rescue Plan allocates $160 billion in funds to drastically scale up the nation’s pandemic response, including by investing in vaccines, testing, and others resources. Among the provisions in the ARP is $20 billion to set up community vaccination clinics, deploy mobile units, and fortify the vaccine supply chain; $50 billion to procure and administer tests, and to invest in lab capacity; more than $300 million to expand the United States’ genomic sequencing abilities as dangerous new variants of the virus spread; $8 billion to expand the public health workforce; and $30 billion in the Disaster Relief Fund. Despite the immensity of this crisis and the need to control the virus, Republicans voted against this funding.
- AID FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: President Biden’s rescue plan would funnel about $50 billion into struggling small businesses by providing $15 billion to start a grant program for small business owners, and by making a $35 billion investment into local financing programs that would make low-interest loans and provide venture capital to entrepreneurs. Republican Senators have voted against this funding.
- NUTRITION ASSISTANCE: The American Rescue Plan would help families as hunger has exploded across the country by extending a 15 percent increase in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through September, investing $3 billion in the Women, Infants and Children program, and providing $1 billion to bolster the Nutrition Assistance Program block grant for territories. Republicans voted against these measures.
In voting against the budget resolution, key Republican senators voted against aid for their own states and constituents:
- Senator Susan Collins voted against as much as $2.6 billion in relief for Mainers.
- Senator Lisa Murkowski voted against as much as $1.4 billion in relief for Alaskans.
- Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott voted against as much as $40 billion in relief for Floridians.
- Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr voted against as much as $20 billion in relief for North Carolinians.
- Senator Rob Portman voted against as much as $22 billion in relief for Ohioans.
- Senator Pat Toomey voted against as much as $25 billion for Pennsylvanians.
- Senator Ron Johnson voted against as much as $11 billion for Wisconsinites.