Turns out the COVID relief package is wired to keep Republican Governors from sabotaging it
Although the Republicans chose to fight the American Rescue Plan every step of the way, they are already trying to shamelessly take credit for legislation they had nothing to do with – or blatantly lie about what’s in it. So far, they’re still trying to find something that will stick with voters. This is why several state Republican assemblies have taken it upon themselves to fund tax cuts using the $350 billion set aside for states to ensure front line public workers continue to get paid while effectively distributing vaccines and tests.
Even before the American Rescue Plan passed, on Feb. 23, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia House Ways and Means Committee Chair Shaw Blackmon promised further tax cuts if the plan became law – a move considered by Republican-dominated legislatures in Kansas, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, and West Virginia as well.
There’s just one problem holding them back. A last minute floor amendment proposed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gives the Biden administration the authority to stop states from diverting the relief funds to tax cuts. In cases where the funding provided is used to offset tax revenue from the state, the law allows the secretary of the treasury to take back the federal aid money.
If this wasn’t enough of a reminder of how unfit Republicans are to govern, they’re currently pushing a bill to force more tax cuts that have no chance of passing and would only make things worse if they did. It’s just your latest reminder that Republicans are inept and weak in the face of a crisis, and need to be kept from creating messes like the ones Democrats are now working to fix.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making