Some people wonder why the popularity of both houses of Congress are at all time lows. Some wonder why the trust in our legislative bodies has cratered in recent times. Still others wonder where the credibility of our statesmen has gone. It is days like today that answer all three of the above questions and put the dysfunctional nature of Congress on full display.
After months of negotiation Congress was finally able to get a deal done on Corona Virus relief. They finally came up with a 900-billion-dollar bill with a faction of that money allocated to direct assistance of the American citizen. In a move of genius proportion, they decided to package this bill into a 2.3-trillion-dollar bill that includes defense and foreign aid spending. The bill is a whopping 5,593 pages long and they dropped it into the laps of both houses of Congress a mere few hours before they were to vote on it.
Essentially Nancy Pelosi was able to single handedly stall relief to the American people in the lead up to the election because it might have helped President Trump and then accepts half the total that was offered months before, but hides the bill in a massive pork filled atrocity that no one has time to read before they are scheduled to vote. I feel like this whole you have to pass it to find out what’s in it strategy has been done before. Add in the fact that many Americans who have had their businesses and jobs ruined by politicians are now to receive 600-dollar stimulus check while in a bill within this same omnibus bill we are sending hundreds of millions of dollars to foreign countries (Include 10 million for gender studies in Pakistan) and I can see why the American people are pissed.
Members of Congress are now faced with the unenviable choice of voting against Corona relief, as paltry as it is, for Americans and accepting this pork laden budget buster of a bill, that I am sure we will find out in the next few days rewards friends of Congress. Who crafted this monstrosity? Which member of Congress is going to take a stand against turning illegal streaming into a felony and deny the American people the help they need? (As an aside, why does a budget bill include increased penalties for illegal streaming? Seriously?)
Now maybe the end of the year appropriations needed to be completed, but the optics where Americans get $600 and hundreds of millions of dollars are shipped around the globe are the exact reason why no one likes Congress. The shady way in which they try to drop a bill 5,593 pages long and demand a vote before either Congress or the American people can read and voice their opinion is why no one trusts Congress. The fact that Corona virus relief was held hostage to play political games is why we no longer have statesmen.
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