Tlaib calls out hypocrite GOP taking credit for stimulus bill

Democratic Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib blasted Republicans for taking "credit" for the Covid relief bill despite that not a single member of the GOP voted for the bill dubbed The American Rescue Plan.

Ms Tlaib tweeted on Sunday: "You know how in a group project there is always a handful of students who didn't contribute, but they still take credit at the end. That's the GOP after the passage of the American Rescue Plan."

The house of representatives passed the relief bill on Wednesday after it had been amended by the senate. President Biden signed it into law on Thursday and stimulus checks of $1,400 started going out this weekend to Americans earning less than $75,000.

The bill also includes an increased child tax credit, funding for state and local governments, money meant to help reopen schools, aid small businesses, and boost vaccination efforts around the country.

States and cities will get $350bn, a move blasted by Republicans who argued it was a bailout for badly run mainly Democratic cities, according to Newsweek.

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Despite the plan getting no GOP votes in either chamber of Congress, some Republicans have still been taking credit for the package, to the ire of Democrats.

Florida Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar tweeted on Friday: "So proud to announce that the Biden Administration has just implemented my bipartisan COVID relief bill as part of Small Business Administration policy."

California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu responded: "You voted against it. You voted NO on your own legislation. But thanks for highlighting some of the great small business provisions in the American Rescue Plan, which every Republican member of Congress opposed."

In a press release, the office of Ms Salazar said she introduced "the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan Relief Act" along with Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids on 3 March. The bill "would extend the time to repay Economic Injury Disaster Loan loans, taken in response to COVID-19, for an extra year since the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing," the office said.

Ms Salazar said: "We cannot force our struggling small business owners to repay these loans at a time when many are barely able to keep their doors open."

Ms Tlaib called on Republicans to support the Automatic Boost to Communities Act, which would provide for "recurring payments of $2,000/month and the creation of an emergency resource corp".

The bill was introduced by Washington state Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The payments would go to eligible individuals and the emergency corp would be formed to aid the most vulnerable communities hit hard by the pandemic.

Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker tweeted on 10 March that "independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief. This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll".

Reporters were quick to point out that Mr Wicker didn't vote for the bill.

“One good provision in a $1.9 trillion bill doesn’t mean I have to vote for the whole thing,” Mr Wicker told reporters according to HuffPost.

An aide to Mr Wicker added that he was behind the Restaurants Act which would provide for $120bn of relief for independent restaurants and small franchises.

“He was not able to support $2 trillion in poorly targeted spending as was proposed by Congressional Democrats. He will continue working to advance targeted relief for restaurants and other groups that have been hit hard by the pandemic," the aide said.

The Independent has reached out for comment from Ms Salazar.