House Republican leaders are cautioning President Donald Trump against rushing a fourth CCP virus relief package, warning that the hasty spending could have long-term impact on the countrys debt.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent a letter to the president on Friday urging him to reject requests for any additional relief packages, arguing that another bill would be premature since the recently passed bill, the CARES Act, has not yet fully taken effect.
“Most of the relief funding from Phase 2 and Phase 3 has not even been distributed yet. We advise caution in considering an additional round of spending outside of the regular process before we have seen the results of the previous three rounds of spending,” the lawmakers wrote. The letter was also signed by 20 other Republican lawmakers.
Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package last month that is slated to provide $1,200 for most Americans and $500 for every child, along with a number of measures to support small businesses and companies. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and businesses have been forced to close as states ordered all nonessential businesses to close to slow the spread of the CCP virus.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and top Democrats have called for a fourth relief package in response to the pandemic that would include a bipartisan infrastructure deal. The president welcomed the infrastructure proposal in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
But during an interview with CNBC on Friday, Pelosi scaled back on her ambitions on what the next bill would entail, saying that an infrastructure deal that includes things like clean water and more broadband “may have to be for a bill beyond this.” Instead, she said the next bill would expand on the previous one while adding that she would like to see more direct payments to American working families.
In a statement released also on Friday, Pelosi said Congress “must work on an infrastructure package for recovery that addresses some of the critical impacts and vulnerabilities in America that have been laid bare by the coronavirus,” but did not specify whether this would be included in the next bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also signaled that he supports a fourth relief package, saying that it will focus on healthcare.
“[It] should be more a targeted response to what we got wrong and what we didnt do enough for—and at the top of the list there would have to be the health care part of it,” he told The Associated Press, confirming there will be another measure.
House Republicans have expressed less enthusiasm about spending more money. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was wary about the idea of a fourth bill when interviewed by
The Epoch Times
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