WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Carlos A. Gimenez (FL-26) voted against the $1.9 trillion budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, restating the need to connect constituents with existing COVID-19 relief funds.

“I could not vote for a package filled with excessive non-COVID-19 items and a lack of ability for Republicans to have input in the process. Far too many Americans are struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and deserve substantial, targeted assistance. I support policies that include $2000 stimulus checks to individuals making less than $75,000, direct assistance to businesses struggling to remain open, and reimbursing businesses for COVID-19 related expenses.

“Congress’ top priority must be connecting Americans needing assistance with the $1 trillion in already existing funds. These pots of money include $59 billion for schools to use to re-open safely, $239 billion for hospitals and health care providers to bolster their operating capacities, and $452 billion available to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program and other federal government loan programs,” Gimenez said.

The bill included a series of non-COVID-19 related items and political initiatives. Only 9% of the package is used to actually fight the pandemic. These provisions included in the final package include:

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• $350 billion spent on pension bailouts of states that have mismanaged their state-level finances years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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• $86 billion in union bailouts, the very organizations that have fought for policies that closed state economies and have left children out of the classroom for nearly a year.
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• $56 billion to create a $15 national minimum wage, hiking the current minimum wage by 107 percent. This will cause disruptive job losses, decimate small businesses in a time of need, and increase the cost of many goods and services, including healthcare and childcare services.
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• $12 billion in foreign aid, bypassing the proper appropriations vehicles to set the annual foreign aid funding.
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• $141 million for a Pelosi’s Silicon Valley Underground Tunnel and Schumer’s Bridge.
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“When President Biden and my congressional colleagues want to have a real discussion on how we can get the existing $1 trillion of assistance into the hands of Americans who need it the most, you know where to find me,” Gimenez concluded.

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