Rep. Ilhan Omar recently expressed how disappointed she is in her own party on a CNN segment, noting how Democrats are sending coronavirus stimulus checks to fewer people than former President Donald Trump did.
“I see it as a really disappointing development. We obviously are now ultimately sending money to less people than the Trump administration. And so, ultimately, it is a failure when we compromise ourselves out of delivering on behalf of the American people and keeping our promises,” Omar said.
The $1.9 trillion relief package, which was passed by the Senate on Saturday, includes $1,400 stimulus checks, which are more than the ones in previous stimulus bills but will be sent to fewer people. President Biden narrowed eligibility for the new round of payments, noting that the checks would “phase out faster” for those at higher income levels compared to direct payments.
Individuals earning up to $75,000 per year and couples making up to $150,000 per year would qualify for the full $1,400 payments. It was estimated by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which is a left-leaning think tank, that 17 million fewer people would receive checks than in the last stimulus, which would include 12 million adults and 5 million children.
“The last checks that we were able to send had given, you know, 17 million more people than we will ultimately do with the caps now. And that, you know, is going to be something that we’re going to have to explain, and I don’t know if many of us have a logical explanation on why we are delivering less than what the Republicans were willing to compromise us on delivering on to the American people,” Omar said.
Omar added that Democrats cannot blame Republicans for their “inability to deliver on the promises we made.” She pointed out how the House is controlled by Democrats, the Senate is controlled by Democrats, and the White House is controlled by a Democrat administration, but that none of the policies made any sense. The Democrat Party promised to pass $2,000 stimulus checks if they won both Georgia runoff elections. After winning both races, they changed direction and instead proposed only $1,400 checks.
Others have pointed out that the entirety of the $1.9 trillion package was “overwhelmingly non-emergency” and had nothing to do with helping get Americans back to work.
“This weekend’s spending is bigger than the entire annual economy of Canada, yet only one percent of it is vaccine-related. Here’s how midnight spending bills go down: Senators hide a bunch of crap behind titles like ‘The Cuddly Puppies Act,’ and then say anybody voting against it hates puppies,” said Sen. Ben Sasse.
This bill was all about how much money House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could use to fund their government pet projects and disguise as “COVID-19 aid.” The entire bill lacked any “relief” for hard-working Americans to begin with.
