The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted in favor of a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief package designed to alleviate the health and economic fallout of the global pandemic. The Heroes Act, H.R. 6800, was written by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and House Democrats.
Congressman Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, voted against the bill and dismissed it as a wish list of far-left priorities that come at a price of $3 trillion.
“I opposed the misnamed HEROES Act today because it constitutes a real threat to our national security,” Palmer said. “On March 26th, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reported that our debt-to-GDP was already at 106.8 percent. Since then, Congress added over $2 trillion dollars to that. If this $3 trillion left-wing-dream-come-true bill were to become law, it could likely move our debt-to-GDP to nearly 120 percent by the end of this fiscal year. Debt levels of this magnitude are not sustainable and threaten Social Security, Medicare, household income and most critically threaten our national security.
“Once upon a time, there was bipartisan agreement about this,” Palmer added. “Former Secretaries of Defense across multiple administrations all warned that our debt will compromise our national security capabilities. It is foolhardy for the current Democrat majority to ignore the warnings that the single biggest threat to our national security is our national debt. America has enemies, and despite the illusions of some, China is foremost among them. If this bill became law, it would undermine our ability to maintain our military superiority over China. China is carrying out a long-term strategy to defeat the United States and replace our nation as the dominant world power. Undermining our economy and forcing us into a massive debt trap will expedite their ascension.”
“We are at a pivotal point in our history with some very tough decisions to face, not the least of which involve restarting our economy while also maintaining the level of government needed to serve our communities, states, and nation,” Rep. Palmer explained. “This bill does not solve the problems ahead, but compounds them and puts the whole country on the same reckless fiscal path as failed states such as California and New York.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) dismissed the bill as another partisan stunt from House Democrats amid this crisis.
“This is déjà vu here. Another concerted Democrat effort to ram through liberal pet policies under the guise of necessary Coronavirus relief,” said NRSC Communications Director Jesse Hunt. “Using a global pandemic and economic turmoil to try to reshape the country to fit their extreme tendencies is about as shameful as it gets.”
The economy was booming in February, then the world changed. The coronavirus global pandemic struck the U.S.A. hard leaving 88,507 Americans dead with another 1,595 succumbing to COVID-19 on Friday alone. The forced economic shutdown has left an incredible 38 million Americans unemployed and thousands of once thriving businesses shuttered.
Congressman Gary Palmer represents the Sixth Congressional District. Palmer is the co-founder and former President of the Alabama Policy Institute.
