AFP Hosts Rep. Jim Banks for Discussion on COVID Relief Bill, Fiscal Responsibility
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Americans for Prosperity (AFP) today hosted an online event with U.S. Representative Jim Banks and AFP President Tim Phillips on the so-called COVID relief bill, the economy, and discussed how Indiana’s fiscal responsibility can serve as a model for Congress.
You can view the event here.
AFP-IN State Director Michael Chartier issued the following statement:
“Rather than timely and targeted common-sense policies, the latest COVID spending bill is full of partisan items that have nothing to do with relief for families, workers, and employers. Indiana tightened its fiscal belt and we set ourselves up to deal with crises like the one we currently face. Our state can be a model for Congress in prioritizing taxpayer dollars and should not be responsible for bailing out states whose finances were a mess years before COVID.
“We thank Congressman Banks for joining us to inform Hoosiers and Americans across the country on what he and other legislators are doing to ensure we keep relief targeted and timely. With Congressman Banks’ leadership, we can help stop the trend of using a crisis to push a political agenda.”
Congressman Banks said this about the COVID relief bill:
“It’s a week old, but the more we learn about what was stuffed in the $1.9 trillion spending deal, the more troubling we find it…States like Illinois that had budget deficits prior to the pandemic for decades or longer are now getting bailed out by taxpayers from states like Indiana who have been fiscally responsible for years, passing balanced budgets at their state level. It’s a raw deal for American taxpayers. It’s a raw deal for future generations who are going to have to pay for it.”
Background:
The grassroots group recently released its “Save Lives. Save Livelihoods. Recover Stronger” policy agenda to focus Congress and the Biden administration’s attention during the first 100 days on two of the biggest challenges facing Americans: ending the pandemic and helping the economy recover stronger. The agenda outlines a two-part plan to save lives with an “all-of-the-above” approach to addressing COVID-19 and save livelihoods by getting people back to work safely and getting the economy moving again. Doing both while preventing bad policy will put us on a path to recover stronger.
AFP President Tim Phillips and Minority Whip of the U.S. House Steve Scalise: Washington Post: Opinion: We already went ‘big’ on coronavirus relief. More of the same won’t solve the problem.
