Senate Democrats Voted Down Amendments to Make Sure Illegal Aliens and Prisoners Did Not Get COVID Stimulus Checks

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is bragging that the Senate delivered relief for New York.

“We just delivered robust, bold COVID relief for New York The #AmericanRescuePlan delivers $100 billion for NY families, workers, people, small businesses including restaurants and stages, state and local governments, vaccines This bill will help almost every single New Yorker”

We just delivered robust, bold COVID relief for New York

The #AmericanRescuePlan delivers $100 billion for NY families, workers, people, small businesses including restaurants and stages, state and local governments, vaccines

This bill will help almost every single New Yorker

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 7, 2021

What didn’t make it onto his social media account is how on Saturday the Senate Democrats rejected the coming COVID stimulus relief payments to illegal aliens who are living in our country illegally and to criminals currently in prison.  I’m trying to find out if the Democrats gave more money to prisoners the way they originally did for illegals.  Initially, Pelosi and Schumer offered $600 to American citizens and $1,800 to illegal aliens, fully three times as much as American citizens.  That was until then-President Donald Trump stepped in and gave a speech talking about how disgraceful an act that was.

Prior to passing the outrageous $1.9 trillion stimulus bill filled with bailouts for Democrat-run cities and states that screwed up their economies long before COVID-19 came along, along with billions of dollars going to crazy things that have absolutely nothing to do with fighting COVID, things like $300 million going to the Agriculture Department to “conduct monitoring and surveillance of susceptible animals for incidence of SARS–CoV–2,” and $135 million to the National Endowment for the Arts and matching payments of $135 million to the National Endowment of the Humanities, neither of which have been open during the pandemic nor have anything to do with fighting COVID-19, Congressional Republicans offered up numerous amendments to make sure that Americans who need the relief the most would get it first.  The Democrats rejected every one of them.

GOP senators were unable to strip any of the pork out of the bill when it was passed without a single Republican senator voting in favor, even the RINOs.

In an effort to do the right thing, to send the right message, and to save the American taxpayers about $2 billion three Republican senators, Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced an amendment that would have stopped payments going to “any individual who is incarcerated in a Federal or State prison.”  The Democrats rejected it by a vote of 49-50.

 

Not adopted, 49-50: Cassidy Amendment #1162 (re: no checks for prisoners) in relation to H.R.1319, FY2021 Budget Reconciliation.

— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) March 6, 2021

In a statement, Cassidy said, “Prisoners do not pay taxes. Taxpayers pay for their every need. Inmates cannot stimulate the economy. But, under this bill they receive stimulus checks. This is a perfect example of nontargeted, inappropriate, and total waste of spending. It’s ridiculous that this is in the bill.”

And to think, the Democrats got the majority by pulling the same crap in the two Georgia Senate elections that they did during the 2020 presidential election.  They announce they were going to stop counting votes the night of the Senate elections and resume in the morning yet we witnessed the numbers for Democrats shoot up in the middle of the night when no one was supposed to be counting ballots.

Ted Cruz also introduced an amendment to the bill that would have stopped payments going out to illegal aliens.  The Democrats also rejected that proposal 49-50.  Who is the lone Republican who didn’t vote?

Cruz took to social media to let the American people know what the Democrats had done before the Democrats spin machines, er… I mean the mainstream media filtered the message in favor of the Democrats.

“Joe Biden and the Democrats want to give illegal aliens $1,400 COVID relief checks.

I proposed an amendment to prevent that from happening.”

Joe Biden and the Democrats want to give illegal aliens $1,400 COVID relief checks.

I proposed an amendment to prevent that from happening.

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 6, 2021

“This amendment before us today provides that the stimulus checks should not go to illegal aliens in this country,” Cruz said while introducing the amendment in the Senate. “The question for the American people to answer is, should your money, should taxpayer money, be sent, $1,400, to every illegal alien in America?”

The senator from Texas tweeted again about a quarter-hour later.

“Democrats just voted against my amendment that would have prevented American taxpayer dollars from being handed out to illegal aliens in the form of $1,400 stimulus checks.”

Democrats just voted against my amendment that would have prevented American taxpayer dollars from being handed out to illegal aliens in the form of $1,400 stimulus checks. https://t.co/zYNGrC9dqZ

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 6, 2021

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durban (D-IL) accused Cruz of being dishonest.

“The statement of the senator from Texas is just plain false. False! Let me be clear: Undocumented immigrants do not have Social Security numbers, and they do not qualify for stimulus relief checks,” Durbin said according to The Hill.

Then how come it was previously reported that the Democrats allotted $1,800 to go to illegal aliens and only $600 to US citizens?  Cruz was simply wanting to make sure that when the House gets the bill back from the Senate crazy Nany won’t try to put an illegal alien provision in.

Other amendments to the bill that were rejected by the Democrats include one to allow Keystone XL pipeline construction to continue, one to provide more targeted pandemic relief, and another one to require in-person classroom learning for education funding, among other amendments.

The Democrats rejected them all.

Not agreed to, 51-48: Motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to Tester Amendment #1197 (re: require the President to review and approve the Keystone XL Pipeline to assist COVID-impacted communities) in relation to H.R.1319, FY2021 Budget Reconciliation.

— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) March 6, 2021

Not adopted, 49-50: Romney Amendment #1364 (Re: targeted state and local) in relation to H.R.1319, FY2021 Budget Reconciliation.

— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) March 6, 2021

Not adopted, 48-51: Rubio Amendment #1026 (re: ensure schools must be open 50% of the time for 50% of the students in order to receive funding) in relation to H.R.1319, FY2021 Budget Reconciliation.

— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) March 6, 2021