WASHINGTON, D.C.—House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria to discuss Democrats’ partisan spending bill filled with progressive priorities that have nothing to do with COVID relief. Whip Scalise challenged Democrats to remove the liberal wish-list items in their $1.9 trillion package and instead focus on providing targeted relief to help struggling families and small businesses, and to immediately reopen schools for in-person learning.
Click here or on the image above to watch the interview.
Highlights from the interview:
On Democrats’ nearly $2 trillion package of progressive priorities:
“First of all, it’s a disaster of a giveaway bill to states that were failed. [For] example, California will probably get $40 billion from this bill, they just announced last week they have a $10 billion surplus. My challenge to Joe Biden would be would he agree to take out all the things that are not related to COVID like raising the minimum wage? Again, you pointed out the money to states. What about this underground railroad in Silicon Valley? How about money that’s going to keep schools closed – 95% of the money in this bill – over $130 billion for education, will not even be spent until 2022 when schools needed to be reopened today. The science, by the way, strongly backs up opening up schools right now. It points out the long-term damage being done to millions of kids in America right now who aren’t in the classroom. It’s a national disgrace what’s happening to our children to bow down to the teachers’ union. So, I would challenge President Biden to take out all of the things that have nothing to do with COVID, and let’s actually get back to helping families, reopen small businesses, and open up our schools right now. Not a year from now, not one day a week, [they need to be open] five days a week.”
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“This, Maria, is what disgusts people about how business is done in Washington. It needs to stop. You know, Nancy Pelosi famously said during Obamacare, ‘You have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.’ Well at least right now people are starting to find out what’s in it. You know enough to know this bill shouldn’t pass. I’ve surely been urging everybody to vote against this bill and let’s focus on helping families, helping reopen businesses, and helping open schools. I had an amendment to double the number of vaccines that we’re going to be giving. Instead of what was the Trump plan which was 100 million vaccines in Biden’s first 100 days, that’s what President Trump left Joe Biden. We have been pushing [President Biden] to put even more resources to increase and double the number of vaccines to 200 million and they have blocked us at every turn. In fact, every Democrat voted against the amendment to increase vaccines. So, what are they trying to do except give away money to failed states and cover for [Governor Cuomo]? We had a bill to make Cuomo show the nursing home data. Every Democrat voted against that.”