The news: Friday, the House will vote on H.R. 6800, a bill the Democrats are calling “The Heroes Act.”
Given how little it does to fight coronavirus and help put Americans back to work safely, it should be called the Careless Act.
The details: Late Tuesday evening, Democrats released an 1,815-page bill that they claim is aimed at offering relief from the coronavirus.
As the AP reported, “it’s a starkly partisan offering with no real input from Republicans.”
Here is what Democrats are forcing a House vote on in just two days:
- Partisan, unworkable health care proposals: Democrats want to ban information for patients about lowering cost health coverage options. It seeks an unnecessary and redundant “Special Enrollment Period” that’s already available to people who lose employer-sponsored coverage due to job loss. And it does not include Hyde Amendment protections that ensure taxpayers don’t pay for abortion services.
- It ensures unemployment continues: Democrats are doubling down on paying people not to work by expanding the unemployment benefits created under the CARES Act until the end of January 2021. This makes it harder for Main Street businesses to bring their employees back to work. The bill also creates new mandates, forcing small businesses to offer paid leave without giving them a way to pay for it—at exactly the moment they need more flexibility to reopen.
- Tax giveaways to the rich: Democrats are also giving the green light to governors to keep taxes high on their constituents by repealing the $10,000 cap placed on the State and Local Tax Deduction. Repealing this cap is a windfall to millionaires and billionaires, that only results in a middle class tax cut of 10 bucks.
Ways and Means Republicans have broken down more specifics on the legislation on our Coronavirus website. For details on the health provisions, click here. For details on unemployment and paid leave, click here. For details on tax, click here.
The bottom line: “This is a recipe for a prolonged recession, with virtually nothing to get the jobless back to work, while Democratic special interests and millionaires get a windfall,” Rep. Kevin Brady said. “To use your words, Speaker Pelosi, you’re fiddling with petty politics while millions of Americans are hurting.”
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