Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Stefanik will vote against the Democrats’ partisan America Rescue Plan Act of 2021. She issued the following statement:
"Speaker Pelosi and President Biden's $2 trillion partisan spending package is filled with pork projects, special interest giveaways, and the Far-Left's policy wish list. It is unacceptable that less than 10% of the package is for public health measures, and more than half of the funding will not even be spent until 2022 or later. In the last Congress, I voted for multiple, bipartisan COVID relief packages to fund vaccine research, development, and distribution, and support small businesses, farms, and hardworking families to safely reopen our economy. While I have long advocated for critical COVID relief funding for North Country hospitals, counties and municipalities, schools, and small businesses, this bill is packed with unacceptable Far-Left priorities. Rather than reaching across the aisle in the spirit of bipartisanship, Speaker Pelosi and President Biden are instead forcing a highly partisan package with the majority of funding for non-COVID related programs, and then sticking American taxpayers with the 2 trillion dollar bill."
Specifically, the bill includes:
- $15 minimum wage mandate on North Country small businesses – the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed this would cost 1.4 million jobs
- Stimulus checks for illegal immigrants
- Funding for companies, colleges, and universities with Chinese Communist Party partnerships
- Additional money for unemployment that will disincentivize Americans to return to work
- Zero funding for critical workforce development and job training programs
- No requirement for schools to reopen for in-person learning
- PPP funds for violent criminals, including those guilty of sexual crimes
- Measures to allow taxpayer dollars to fund abortions
- $800 million for foreign food aid
- Cuts match to the Child Care Entitlement to States grant program, reducing federal support for North Country families
