Pelosi's Plan Would Help People Shirk on Their Bills

Pelosi's Plan Would Help People Shirk on Their Bills
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In May, the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) passed the 1800-page Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. At an astounding cost of more than $3 trillion, the HEROES Act was the single largest spending bill in U.S. history. While the legislation was ostensibly designed to help the nation cope with the economic fallout from the pandemic, it is in fact nothing more than an ideological wish list of radical policies and bailouts for connected special interest groups. But some of the most obscure provisions — such as language barring debt collectors from disconnecting utilities — would have devastating unintended consequences. Congress should wipe the slate clean on these half-baked ideas and pass a clean relief bill that would help those struggling the most.

Despite its lofty name, the “HEROES Act” in reality lavishes bailouts to special interest groups instead of offering a hand up to ordinary Americans. There has been significant media coverage about the most egregious provisions, including an unnecessary billion-dollar bailout to the U.S. Postal Service and blank checks to chronically mismanaged states and localities. But the debt collection provisions have received little scrutiny, despite the potential problems posed by these proposals. The legislation dictates that, “no debt collector may during a covered period…disconnect or terminate service from a utility service, including electricity, natural gas, telecommunications or broadband, water, or sewer for nonpayment.” This part of the HEROES Act notably fails to target this relief to Americans impacted by the pandemic and unable to pay their bills as a result. Rather, these provisions cover anyone who does not want to pay — for any reason at all — and shields even the wealthiest Americans from being disconnected. And these “protections” are open-ended, considering that the “covered period” could go on for several months or even years depending on the severity of the pandemic and the ability of the world’s scientists to develop a viable vaccine.

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