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Rep. Estes: Pelosi’s Payout “Unrelated to COVID-19 and Unnecessary”

February 25, 2021 — Blog    — Coronavirus Bulletin    — Op-eds and Speeches    — Press Releases   

Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) notes in a Daily Signal oped that the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion so-called “relief” package is more a payout to special interest groups than helping those who actually need the help.

Key Takeaways:

  • “One bailout that’s included in Biden’s COVID-19 bill is an estimated $60 billion for pensions. Using coronavirus relief funds to bail out these pension funds is unfair to taxpayers, as many of the pensions have been mismanaged and continue avoiding reforms that would prevent insolvency.” As a former Kansas state treasurer and trustee of the state’s pension program, Estes has seen proof that it’s possible to keep such programs solvent.
  • Uncontrolled spending by our federal government isn’t without consequence. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that $2 trillion in spending could shrink the economy by about $100 billion over the next decade, and with the national debt topping $27 trillion, our budget will have to shift over the coming years to accommodate larger and larger interest payments.
  • The Kansans I represent don’t want Washington to spend trillions of their taxpayer dollars on partisan projects. They want lawmakers just to work on crushing this virus so we can get back to building our families, businesses, and communities.
  • This nearly $2 trillion bill isn’t the right approach. It’s not targeted and is full of partisan handouts that have little or nothing to do with COVID-19.

Read the oped here.