America Doesn’t Need Pelosi’s Massive Spending Package

When Congress finally passed its third coronavirus relief act on Friday, many Americans suffered sticker shock at the $2 trillion bill. But Nancy Pelosi and her followers are never content to let a crisis go to waste — they are now hoping to pass yet another sweeping bill — and the result won’t be pretty.

As the novel coronavirus endangered Americans and government actions spurred a deep economic dive, our government had to act fast. They passed the CARES Act last week to help keep workers and businesses afloat, albeit at a steep cost. The President activated FEMA, the National Guard, and other military units to deal with the virus while banning travel from the most infected countries. The Federal Reserve released trillions of dollars of liquidity into the financial markets. The government’s actions have adopted a whole-of-government approach to address both the urgent public health and economic impacts of the crisis.

The effect on the economy will likely be massive. The CARES Act will grant $1200 checks for most Americans and hundreds of billions in loans to distressed companies to pay their employees. It’s the largest economic stimulus package ever to hit the American economy — more money than what Americans pay in income taxes every year, and more than the $800 billion the government spent with TARP. While government checks can’t rebuild the economy, they can help support the small businesses and workers who will.

The effect of all these measures won’t happen right away, of course. The stimulus checks won’t hit bank accounts for weeks. The effects of social distancing have a lag time as well. As the coronavirus task force works to increase testing, we will likely see the number of coronavirus cases continue to rapidly rise, at least at first. These measures will hopefully help millions of Americans stay healthy, but they too will need time to work.

That’s why it is absurd for Congress to even consider passing a massive “Phase 4” bill.

Conservatives opposed many unnecessary policies in the third coronavirus bill from the start. While some provisions were essential to support Americans through this time, some were deeply concerning — like paying Americans more money to be unemployed than employed. Even though the bill was far from perfect, Congress felt immense pressure to “do something” and play its part to keep Americans safe.

But instead of giving these drastic measures time to work, the left is already thinking up how to move on to even bigger, costlier measures, many unrelated to the virus itself. Nancy Pelosi said there will be more bills, while other lawmakers referred to the bill as a “down payment.” Pelosi also tipped her hand last week when she sent draft legislation that included provisions like higher airline fuel standards or examining “pay equity” for corporate boards. Some Democratic lawmakers want to go even further — they were reportedly upset that the bill didn’t include provisions like “a nationwide initiative to install rooftop solar.” Even if the virus slows down, they will take the chance to jam through their long-standing policy agenda.

Passing another massive “emergency” comprehensive bill would be reckless — and likely a big-government, liberal wish list. There may be a need for further congressional response to the coronavirus in coming weeks, but new policies should be handled individually, through regular order, rather than in another overstuffed “comprehensive” package. And they certainly shouldn’t pass until we’ve fully implemented the CARES Act.

Ordinary Americans can make sure this disease doesn’t spread further throughout the nation and cripple our long-term health and productivity. Public officials can continue encouraging social distancing and discouraging risk-taking. Governors can ensure their states are protected from the virus, economic disaster, and the backwards incentives of government itself. The administration and Congress, for their part, can work together to correct some of the mistakes in the hastily passed CARES Act and promote fixes like deregulation and tax reform we know will jumpstart the economy.

For a Congress infamous for its inability to pass bills, the nation’s representatives suddenly seemed happy to legislate. The rapid-fire succession of bills in the last few weeks will provide relief to millions of Americans now, though it will cost us all later. Congress should remember this is not the time to jam a policy wishlist through. It’s a time for the nation to come together in our greatest time of need. 

Jessica Anderson is executive director of Heritage Action for America.