TWO out of nearly 200…

February 16, 2021

House committees have allocated their funding for the latest COVID package and…surprise, surprise it was a completely partisan process. 

REMINDER: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki assured the American people that this reconciliation process (where committees vote how the money is allocated) would not be a partisan process. 

BUT of the almost 200 Republican amendments offered during this process, only TWO were passed. 

In this $1.9 trillion spending package, Democrats continued their assault on energy jobs, reopening schools and transparency in government. Here are some of the common-sense amendments that House Democrats voted against:

  1. REAUTHORIZING THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE to put thousands of people back to work in the middle of a pandemic. 
  2. PREVENTING PRESIDENT BIDEN FROM DECLARING A FRACKING BAN unless authorized by Congress, so the executive branch can’t suddenly kill thousands of jobs. 
  3. DEDICATED FUNDING TO VACCINATE TEACHERS so we can get children back in the classroom. 
  4. REQUIRING SCHOOLS TO OPEN if teachers have had the opportunity to receive the COVID vaccine. 
  5. EXPANDING RURAL BROADBAND so children in rural areas have reliable access to internet for school. 
  6. CONFIRMING AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE FIRST IN LINE to receive the COVID vaccine. 
  7. PREVENTING FRAUD by requiring states to verify a person’s identity & wages before granting unemployment insurance. 
  8. REQUIRING THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE TO INVESTIGATE any significant past or future nursing home data reporting discrepancies.
  9. ENSURING NO ONE GETS PAID MORE IN UNEMPLOYMENT than they would at their previous jobs.
  10. MORE STATE FUNDING TO ADDRESS SUBSTANCE ABUSE because overdoses have skyrocketed during the pandemic. 
  11. REQUIRING STATES TO USE PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED COVID FUNDS before more funding is allocated. 
  12. ENSURING CAPITOL POLICE RECEIVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF PAID LEAVE that other federal workers receive in the COVID package. 
  13. PROTECTING HEALTHCARE WORKERS to ensure they aren’t taxed more if they’re sent to another state (like New York)  to combat COVID.
  14. RESUMING CONSTRUCTION OF THE BORDER WALL using already appropriated funding for the wall. 
  15. FUNDING MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT PROGRAMS for Americans experiencing unexpected job losses due to the halting of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the fracking ban on public lands.