Sen's Ernst and Grassley squEEEEEEEal [View all]

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2021/03/11/grassley-ernst-register-editorial-covid-bill-misleading/6951502002/

We supported an amendment to President Joe Biden’s massive spending bill that would have provided $650 billion in targeted pandemic aid — the very same policies that the editorial board argues are so critical to delivering real relief to Iowans. Based on pandemic relief in Biden’s own plan, the proposal was offered by Republicans as a consensus approach to additional aid, but Republicans were shut out of the legislative process at every stage.

They VOTED NO

We supported legislation that would have provided $12.4 billion in nutrition assistance programs for families in need. This includes additional funding for the WIC program, pandemic EBT and SNAP, including extending increased SNAP benefits. It also would have provided $20 billion in immediate assistance to support child care for families. Further, it included $19 billion to help safely reopen schools so our children have the best opportunity to succeed.

They VOTED NO


The Register editorial board would have you believe that opposing such a bloated bill is equivalent to opposing any aid. We doubt the Register would feel the same had Republicans inserted $800 billion for the border wall in last year’s CARES Act and dared Democrats to vote against it. This paper would have criticized such blatant political opportunism, and they’d be right to do so. Republicans chose consensus over opportunism because it’s what the nation needed then, and it’s what we still need today.

squEEEEEEal

We continue to focus on helping Iowans weather the challenges of this pandemic, but we will not sell out Iowa taxpayers and saddle future generations with wasteful spending that pays for partisan bloat.

They VOTED NO