Thread by @Heritage

This week the House is expected to consider a massive package being sold as another COVID-19 relief measure

It's stuffed with provisions that have nothing to do with COVID-19 or economic hardship—and in many cases would actually slow economic rebound and destroy jobs 🧵👇

What should Americans know?

It is a COVID-19 bill that treats COVID-19 as an afterthought

While combatting the pandemic ought to be the centerpiece of legislation referred to as “COVID-19 relief,” public health represents less than 10% of spending in the package

The legislation throws massive amounts of taxpayer dollars at causes that are barely or entirely unrelated to the pandemic—yet neglects some potentially crucial approaches to bringing the disease under control

For example, rapid tests could be deployed for a fraction of the cost of the package—and would provide a vital tool for individuals and the medical community in preventing unnecessary disease transmission

Unfortunately, the FDA is dragging its feet, having only approved one type of rapid test that will be available in limited quantities later this year

Operation Warp Speed helped ensure that multiple vaccines were available—meaning multiple manufacturers making as many doses as possible

A similar approach is needed for rapid tests, and leaders should prioritize this public health need above favors for political allies

What else?

Its massive education spending won’t actually re-open schools

The package spends $170 billion on education—but only about a third of the education funds would be spent between now and September 2020. More would be spent in 2026 than 2021

That’s utterly absurd given the urgency of getting children back in classrooms—especially when you realize about $50 billion in funds for re-opening schools have yet to go out the door—most of which was just passed in December

Youths are at the lowest risk from COVID-19 and teachers are receiving preferential treatment on vaccinations—so let's face it: the additional $170 billion is a de facto pay-off to teachers unions—many of which are issuing unreasonable demands for re-opening schools

ALSO: It opens the door for taxpayer-funded abortions

Surprise! While previous COVID-19 legislation contained standard provisions that prevent federal funding for abortions, those provisions are missing from the new legislation

This means “family planning” money for @PPFA, subsidies for health plans that cover abortions, and even international funding without pro-life protections

It should be unconscionable that legislation supposedly justified as a way to preserve human life would do the opposite

Think it can't get worse? Buckle up!

While lawmakers should pass pro-investment and pro-jobs legislation during a recession, Congress is doing the opposite: attempting to staple a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour onto a package that is supposedly about the pandemic

Even though the increase would be phased in over four years, it would have an immediate impact on investment decisions

Some businesses would spend more on automation to reduce their number of employees

Others would choose not to invest in opening or expanding

And many struggling to stay afloat would give up and close their doors for good

All of these outcomes would reduce opportunities for low-skill and inexperienced workers—because jobs lost to a $15 minimum wage won’t be coming back

The package also includes benefit increases and expansions for a variety of “safety net” programs that ignores the fact that federal and state governments already provide an expansive safety net for unemployed and low-wage households at a tremendous cost to taxpayers.

The bill includes more than $1,000 per person in funds for state and local governments, despite the fact that federal aid last year dwarfed any localized revenue reductions

At least $90 billion will be given from the general public to pad out pension plans for private-sector workers, overwhelmingly benefitting Big Labor

The “at least” is because this bailout could balloon to more than twice that amount

How could it get worse?

The biggest item in the bill, $1,400 per person “recovery rebate” checks, is expected to cost over $400 billion

We have plenty of evidence to know that this would be a poor way to stimulate the economy

The vast majority of working-age Americans are employed, and those who are out of work are eligible for boosted unemployment benefits

There is no inherent economic need for nearly universal checks

Want more proof of that?

Look at Americans increased savings and debt repayment in the wake of last year’s federal checks

Analysis from previous stimulus checks shows that they provide only a small short-term boost to the economy and jobs

Since they add to our mountainous national debt, they'll ultimately slow the economy

Lawmakers aiming to speed up economic recovery should focus efforts on reducing the multitude of barriers to work and investment—to improve the nation’s financial health rather than worsening it

The good news?

There are better ways to respond to the pandemic

Lawmakers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic should work together to enact temporary and targeted measures that will help bring the disease under control and allow the economy to continue improving

This $1.9 trillion package represents a jarring leftward lurch to enact long-standing progressive priorities that have nothing to do with the pandemic

It is riddled with poor economic reasoning, political favoritism, and would needlessly add to the national debt

TL;DR?

Legislators should go back to the drawing board rather than rush to pass this bloated bill