Today, Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08) voted against the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 spending bill. In this costly package, only 9% of funding is used on public health to defeat COVID-19 and more than $700 billion will not be spent until 2022 or later. The House voted on the final passage of this bill today after it passed in the Senate this weekend on a party line vote.
"Having passed each of the previous COVID-19 packages on a bipartisan basis, it is disappointing that this nearly $2 trillion bill has been a partisan process from the start. We need a bill that targets aid to those most impacted by the pandemic. Instead, this plan bails out poorly managed states and initiates a never seen before level of federal spending. In addition, it does not include Hyde Amendment protections and funds abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood," said Rep. Kustoff. "The reality is, we still have more than $1 trillion of unspent funds from the previous COVID-19 relief bills. Rather than continue throwing endless money into programs that do not need more funding, we need a timely and targeted package that will ultimately open up our schools, open our economy, and expand testing and vaccine distribution."