Dr. Joyce: COVID Relief Should Be Targeted to Workers, Students, and Vaccines
Statement
Tonight Congressman John Joyce, M.D. released the following statement on his intention to vote in opposition to H.R. 1319, President Biden's partisan "COVID relief" package.
"The American people want to crush this pandemic, rebuild our economy, and restore our communities. Congress should be focused on getting Americans safely back to work, children and teachers back to the classroom, and vaccines into arms. Instead, the Biden White House sent a partisan wish list and Congressional Democrats rejected every opportunity to make it better. This so-called "relief' plan is merely a bailout for poorly-managed states and a vehicle for Democrats' radical priorities, including taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood and job-killing climate schemes.
"Rather than prioritize workers and our small business community, this legislation would destroy jobs, incentivize endless lockdowns, and keep our small businesses closed. With a nearly $2 trillion price tag for American taxpayers, only 9 percent of this funding would be used to combat the pandemic and only 5 percent would support the full reopening of K-12 schools. Today, I'm voting no on this radical wish list -- but you can be certain that I will keep working to fully reopen our economy, to get our kids back into the classroom, and to accelerate vaccine distribution in Pennsylvania and around the country."
Earlier today, Dr. Joyce introduced three amendments to H.R. 1319 that would improve this legislation and strengthen health care provisions included in the bill. These amendments would:
Delay the automatic Medicare sequester cuts to providers for the duration of the National Emergency Declaration on COVID-19, protecting seniors' access to quality health care
Ensure the bill does not go into effect until the Medicare trustee confirms it does not negatively impact the Medicare Trust Fund or reduce payments to healthcare providers in rural hospitals, protecting patients' access to quality health care regardless of where they live
Eliminate Obamacare exchange subsidies and instead direct funding to the Strategic National Stockpile, strengthening America's preparedness
The Democrats rejected all of Dr. Joyce's amendments.
Source