Biden's Stimulus Will Saddle Congress With 'Indefensible' Tax Burden: Liz Cheney
Published Date: 3/9/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
Republican House members remain opposed to the $1.9 Trillion dollar relief package that is close to passing on Capitol Hill and heading to President Joe Biden to sign. Republicans say Americans have plenty of reason to be skeptical, calling the American Rescue Plan excessive and wasteful. They warn the sweeping package will run up the national debt to precarious new heights after $4 trillion in aid has already been provided. "We could have had a bill that was, you know, a fraction of the cost of this one that could have gotten bipartisan approval and support, but the speaker decided to go in another direction," House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney. "We are going to be saddled with a burden, spending burden and a tax burden that is really indefensible from the perspective of what it actually accomplishes." But at a moment of deep political polarization in America, a new poll shows support for Biden’s pandemic response extends across party lines. Overall, 70% of Americans back the Democratic president's handling of the virus response, including 44% of Republicans. Final passage of the bill is expected this week, before expanded unemployment benefits are set to expire mid-March. "President Biden was offered the ability to work with Republicans and he chose to have a go it alone strategy as well," said House Minority Whipe Rep. Steve Scalise. "That lets Americans down all across this country who wanted to see a package that was focused on helping families and helping small businesses stay afloat and on helping reopen schools." Scalise also went at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the scandals plaguing his administration including deaths at nursing homes. Cuomo is under fire for withholding data from the public and from state lawmakers on COVID-19 deaths among nursing home patients. Critics say they suspect the statistics were withheld to protect the Democrat’s image - a charge the governor has denied. "I would call on President Biden to rescind his designation of Governor Cuomo as the gold standard for COVID leadership. That's not the gold standard," said Scalise. "That is an epic failure that led to the deaths of thousands of people. And Governor Cuomo needs to come clean with the American people, with the people of New York, parents, children who lost their grandparents and their parents who demand answers, who deserve answers to that data." Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake