Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan on Thursday announced that Democrats are considering coronavirus legislation that would give money to states that let criminals out of prison.
According to a Republican Official close to the Judiciary Committee, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and California Rep. Karen Bass proposed the legislation in hopes to pay states for freeing incarcerated criminals out of prison.
“We must give states and local governments critical funding assistance to prevent the spread of this disease in these facilities, to test and treat inmates and those working in prisons, and to promote the reduction in the populations of prisons and jails so that fewer people are put at risk. These steps are urgently needed and are the right thing to do,” Nadler said in a March 27 press release. (RELATED: House Oversight Republicans Press WHO On Role In China’s ‘Coronavirus Propaganda Campaign’)
Causing Jordan to fire back on Twitter:
House Democrats are now considering #coronavirus legislation that PAYS states to let criminals out of prison.
But those same Democrats also argue that gun stores and your #2ndAmendment rights are “non-essential” to protect yourself.
You can’t make this up! pic.twitter.com/GaW18YK5T7
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) April 16, 2020
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) departs an observance and campus wide moment of silence for the National Day of Service and Remembrance honoring victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Capitol Hill on September 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
“First, Democrats wanted money for the Kennedy Center to combat coronavirus. Then Democrats refused to authorize more funding for the popular Paycheck Protection Program, which allows small businesses to keep their doors open during this crisis. And now House Democrats think they can give states federal grant money, funded by American taxpayers, to free prisoners and defeat coronavirus? The logic there is just amazing. Why are Democrats putting funding forward to free prisoners but not small businesses?,” a Republican Official Close to the Judiciary Committee told the Daily Caller.
Members of Congress are still mostly back home for recess. The full House and Senate are not expected back to Washington D.C. sooner than May 4, making it harder for legislation to be passed quickly.