State GOP in U.S. House pans $3 trillion relief bill

Oklahoma Republicans in the U.S. House have come out strongly against the latest financial relief bil l , saying Democratic leaders are using the pandemic to push for a “liberal wish list.”

The House is expected to vote Friday on the measure, which has an estimated price tag of $3 trillion.

Republican Reps. Tom Cole, of Moore; Kevin He rn, of Tulsa; Frank Lucas, of Cheyenne; and Mark wayne Mu ll in, of Westville, have criticized the bill.

Rep. Kendra Horn, D- Oklahoma City, was still reviewing the legislation on Wednesday, a spokesman said.

According to House Democratic leaders, about a third of the money would go to state, local and tribal governments to make up for lost revenue and higher expenses resulting from the pandemic. The bill also includes:

• $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers, including those in health care

•Another round of direct payments, up to $6,000 per household

• An extension through January of the $ 600 per week federal unemployment assistance

• Another $175 billion in assistance for renters and homeowners to make their payments

• A 15% increase in the food stamp benefit

•Funding for health insurance and tax credits for employers to retain employees

• Expansion of voting by mail and early voting

• Funding for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif ., said Wednesday ,“The staggering scale of this crisis demands historic action and extraordinary urgency. Members of the House and Senate must work together and not stand in the way of the relief that the American people and the experts know is needed. Families cannot afford to wait.”

Horn has called for some of the provisions, including the hazard pay and health insurance assistance.

Cole, the top Republican on the House Rules Committee, which will consider the bill on Thursday, said the bill was drafted without GOP input and“is mostly a liberal wish list deceptively packaged as coronavirus relief with a price tag of more than $3 trillion. Now more than ever, the American people need to see bipartisanship and goodwill on display from their elected representatives.”

All seven members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation supported the $2 trillion relief package, known as the CARES Act, in March. A bill approved in April adding money to the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses also had unanimous support in the delegation.

But Republicans in the House and Senate are opposing the new bill, and the Senate may not take it up if it clears the House.

Hern said, “Congress has already spent trillions on new programs in response to COVID- 19. We should see how t he economy reacts to those funds and programs before we insatiably borrow and spend more money from China and others.”

Mullin said the extension of the $ 600 federal unemployment benefit was an incentive for some people not to return to work.

"This means businesses who reopen have to compete with unemployment for their workers," he said.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said last week that state, local and tribal governments need more help and that Congress should loosen restrictions on the money already appropriated to them. Currently, the money is only to be spent on pandemic-related expenses.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has also called for more flexibility. Oklahoma state government has received about $800 million for pandemic-related expenses.