By Beth Baumann | Townhall.com
President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening said he would
not sign the $900 billion COVID relief package that passed both chambers of Congress on Monday. Instead,
he wants them to up the direct cash payment amount that Americans will receive
and to cut out the unnecessary spending.
"Throughout the summer Democrats cruelly blocked
COVID relief legislation in an effort to advance their extreme left-wing agenda
and influence the election," Trump said, referencing the more than 40
times Republicans attempted to pass a relief package.
According to the president, Congress began negotiating a
relief package that has taken "forever." The bill that passed both
chambers of Congress, Trump says, "is much different than anticipated. It
really is a disagree."
Trump referenced the bill, which is more than 5,000 pages
in length, that members of Congress failed to read before passing.
"It's called the COVID relief bill but it has almost
nothing to do with COVID," he explained in his address. "This bill
contains $85.5 million for assistance to Cambodia; $134 million to Burma; $1.3
billion for Egypt and Egyptian military, which will go out and buy almost
exclusively Russian military equipment; $25 million for democracy and gender
programs in Pakistan; $505 million to Beliza, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama; $40 million for the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C., which is not even open for business; $1 billion for the
Smithsonian and an additional $154 million for the National Gallery of Art; ...
$7 million for reef fish management; $25 million to combat Asian carpe; $2.5
million to count the number of amberjack fish in the Gulf of Mexico, a
provision to promote the breeding of fish in federal hatcheries; $3 million in
poultry production technology; $2 million to study the impact of downed trees;
$566 million for construction projects at the FBI."
Trump also took issue with a measure in the bill that
allows illegal aliens to receive up to $1,800 in stimulus checks, a combo of
the first and second relief bills.
"Despite all of this wasteful spending and much
more, the $900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only $600
each in relief pay," the president explained.
Trump knocked the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
loans, saying not enough money is being allocated to small businesses. He
referenced the restaurant industry, which has been particularly hard hit by the
pandemic and government-ordered lockdowns.
"Congress found plenty of money for foreign
countries, lobbyists, and special interests, while sending the bare minimum to
the American people who need it," he explained. "It wasn't their
fault. It was China's fault."
The president is kicking back the bill to Congress and
asking them to amend "the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a
couple." He's also asking Congress to get rid of the pork that's found in the bill.
