WASHINGTON, D.C. – New Jersey’s House Democrats backed a massive new “stimulus” package early Saturday morning, and as has become the custom in Washington, much of the spending items has nothing to do with stimulating the economy or fighting COVID-19 (the purported goals of the legislation).
The stimulus checks are getting most of the attention for obvious reasons, but the $1.9 trillion package which still needs Senate approval includes some particularly egregious waste items even by D.C. standards:
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- $1,5 million for a bridge to Canada
- $10 million to “ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages during and after the (COVID-19) public health emergency.”
- $50 million to hand out environmental justice grants
- $112 million for a Silicon Valley subway
- $200 million dedicated to the Institute of Museum and Library Service
- $270 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities
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Those are just a few of the worst examples. There’s more.
Democrats leaned into this one hard, due in part to their razor-thin House majority (so Pelosi can’t hand out too many passes to members in tough districts). The bill was supported by each of the New Jersey House Democrats considered most vulnerable in 2022: Andy Kim (NJ-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), and Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11).
Keep all of this in mind the next time a New Jersey Democrat alleges a lack of funding for vaccines, small businesses or some other Garden State priority.
Their party controls the federal government. They could’ve spent the cash on things that actually matter to states like New Jersey. They made a conscious choice to piss it away on the usual nonsense. Remember.
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