House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing a stimulus bill that calls for millions in additional funding for various, seemingly unrelated agencies while providing no funding to Customs and Border Protection or Immigration or Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As lawmakers in the upper chamber of Congress continue to struggle to pass a relief package intended to help Americans struggling financially with the coronavirus pandemic, Pelosi and House Democrats are pushing their own bill. However, her version is being derided by GOP critics for funding measures that have no relation to the spread of COVID-19.
Among the provisions in Pelosi’s bill: $35,000,000 for “operations and maintenance” of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; $36,000,000 for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; and even $7,000,000 for Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
Her bill included numerous other unrelated provisions, such as a bailout for the postal service, risk-limiting audits of election results, requirements early and same-day voter registration, and also a requirement for airlines to fully offset their carbon emissions.
Canine Handler Agent Jose Solis, walks Max, a Belgian Malinois, while pursuing suspects near Marfa, Texas on January 29, 2020. (Photo by Paul Ratje / AFP) (Photo by PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the speaker’s legislation calls for no additional funding for CBP and ICE, despite governments around the world adopting stricter border measures to protect their populations against the virus.
In terms of immigration-related measures, Pelosi’s bill does call for $300,000,000 for “Migration and Refugee Assistance.”
“Democrats’ behavior is a national disgrace. They are blocking aid for sick people and unemployed workers over Pelosi’s totally unrelated demands,” tweeted House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday. (RELATED: Trump Administration Declares Travel Ban On Northern, Southern Borders)
“The country is burning and House Democrats would rather delay passage of direct relief to working families and small business so they can manipulate the way we conduct elections, bail out the postal service, impose greenhouse gas mandates on the airlines, and ensure diversity on corporate boards,” Rachel Bovard, Senior Director of Policy at the Conservative Partnership Institute, said to the Daily Caller on Monday.
The Senate version, on the other hand, appropriates $182,000,000 in additional funding for CBP, and $107,000,000 for ICE.
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