Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jeff Duncan (SC-03) issued the following statement after the House Rules Committee rejected his amendment to H.R. 1868 that would remove $494 billion in funding from the recently passed Pelosi Payoff Plan, also called the “American Rescue Plan Act:”
“Once again House Democrats flooded what should have been a targeted, bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill with pork spending unrelated to the pandemic. Only 9% of the funding in the “American Rescue Plan Act” will go directly toward eradicating the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the remaining funds are geared toward progressive wish list items including bailouts for blue state governments, funding to subsidize health care for illegal immigrants, funding for the National Institute of Museum and Library Services, and more. This type of reckless governing has unfortunately been a common theme under the Democrat Majority. In this specific instance, it has caused them to file additional legislation to wave the pay-as-you-go requirements included in the “American Rescue Plan Act,” in order to avoid potential cuts to the Medicare Program.
“The American people deserve better than this. They shouldn’t have to worry about potential cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security to offset the Democrats’ irresponsible spending on progressive priorities. That is why I filed an amendment to remove $494 billion in funding unrelated to COVID-19 that was included in the Democrats’ “American Rescue Plan Act.” Unfortunately, the House Rules Committee rejected my amendment.
“By ruling my common-sense amendment out of order, Democrats are showing their complete disregard for transparency and responsible government spending. However, I plan to continue my fight for fiscal sanity by introducing the “Proudly Eliminating Liberal Objective Spending Items (PELOSI) Rescissions Act of 2021” later this week. My bill would eliminate spending provisions included in the “American Rescue Plan Act” that are unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, the American people need Congress focused on tailored, bipartisan policy that will help families, businesses, and our economy get back to normal as soon as possible.”
