***Click here to download audio***

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Budget Committee member, issued the following statement today after voting against final passage of H.R. 1319, the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Reconciliation being used as a legislative vehicle for Democrats’ $1.9 trillion spending package: 

“Democrats are using a global health pandemic to go on a shopping spree with taxpayer dollars, buying as many items off their liberal wish-list as they can get their hands on. It’s gross. Deceitfully labeled COVID-19 relief, this bill incentivizes workers to stay unemployed even as the economy recovers, gives federal employees weeks of additional paid leave with virtually no stipulations, bails out cities and states facing financial ruin after years of mismanagement by Democrats, and authorizes funding for years down the road, even as much of last year’s relief packages has yet to be spent. With Democrats rushing this horribly flawed bill through Congress using a process designed to ensure they do not need any input from Republicans, it is clear whatever President Biden meant when he promised unity, he has failed miserably. And it is the American people who will suffer for it as their tax dollars are spent on wasteful and harmful government programs.”

Over the past year, Congress has taken unprecedented steps to help Americans respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous five COVID-19 relief bills – each of which received at least 90 votes when they passed in the Senate – totaled $4 trillion in support, though much of the money remains unspent. For example, Congress gave the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department $20 billion when it passed the CARES Act, half of which has not been spent. The package passed in December appropriated $68 billion for schools, and so far, only $5 billion has been spent. Despite these facts, Democrats’ spending package authorizes an additional $17 billion for the VA and $128.6 billion more for schools, but only $6.4 billion of that will be spent this year. Other areas will receive most of their funding years from now as well, including:

  • $4.75 billion for housing vouchers (95 percent of the total appropriation) will be spent during fiscal years 2022-2025,
  • $5.36 billion for airports (67 percent of the total appropriation) will be spent during fiscal years 2022-2025,
  • $9.175 billion for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (92 percent of the total appropriation) will be spent during fiscal years 2022-2028, and
  • $38.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (77 percent of the total appropriation) will be spent during fiscal years 2022-2030.

While the bill contains tens of billions of dollars not designated to be spent this year, it also includes several provisions for fiscal year 2021 which were strongly opposed by Senator Cramer and Senate Republicans who were left out of the negotiation process, such as:

  • $350 billion to bailout poorly managed and financially struggling states;
  • $240 billion for enhanced unemployment benefits through August 2021;
  • $35 billion for Obamacare subsidies; and
  • $570 million to give federal employees nearly seven times the current 80 hours of emergency leave with 600 hours of additional emergency leave. There is no requirement it be due to COVID-19 and no oversight or justification needed.

When this proposed legislation came before the Senate, Republicans used the tools at their disposal to push back, offering a series of amendments to hold Democrats accountable and expose their extreme agenda. Some of those measures offered by Senate Republicans and supported by Senator Cramer include:

  • Rejecting Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) $15 minimum wage proposal;
  • Stopping prisoners and illegal immigrants from receiving stimulus checks.
  • Ensuring states like New York are honest and transparent about the numbers they report involving nursing homes if they are seeking federal assistance;
  • Prioritizing funding for schools reopened for in-person learning;
  • Authorizing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline;
  • Reinstating Hyde Amendment protections to prevent taxpayer funds from paying for abortions;
  • Canceling Democrats’ extended federal employee leave program and replacing those funds with additional border security;
  • Putting national security and public safety above Democrats’ pet projects;
  • Preventing any of the bill’s funds from going to sanctuary cities;
  • Requiring schools to return to in-person classes five days a week in order to receive COVID-19 funding;
  • Using funding meant for the arts for border security amid the growing crisis at the southern border;
  • Reducing the size of the proposed legislation by two-thirds; and
  • Using funds from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery fund to pay for a bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill.

Before these votes took place, Senator Cramer introduced a series of amendments on a wide array of issues including paid leave, education, and broadband. Learn more here.