Saturday, March 6, 2021

THE MORALLY BANKRUPT GLOBALIST DEMOCRAT PARTY - U.S. Bishops Condemn Taxpayer Funding of Abortion in the American Rescue Plan

 

Montana Sen. Steve Daines: ‘Shameful’ Senate Dems Allow Billions of Tax Dollars to Fund Abortions

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) directs a question about limiting abortions to Xavier Becerra, nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill February 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images
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Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, rebuked Democrats Saturday after they voted to pass President Joe Biden’s COVID relief bill allowing billions of American taxpayer dollars to be used to fund abortion on demand.

The bill allocates $400 billion which can be used to fund elective abortions.

While Daines worked to insert the longstanding Hyde Amendment into the measure, Senate Democrats blocked this provision that has been attached to spending bills for decades and bars taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions.

Commenting on the bill, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), said, “It’s about their left-wing agenda”:

Daines said, “Senate Democrats voted to allow billions of taxpayer dollars to be used to fund abortions and voted against applying a 44-year-old prohibition called the Hyde Amendment.”

Discussing past COVID relief bills, Daines commented:

We have had five bipartisan COVID relief packages and not one of them included any provisions that would undermine pro-life protections. Preventing taxpayer dollars from funding abortions is something a majority of Americans agree with. I’m very disappointed to see Senate Democrats use “COVID relief” to get away with their pro-abortion agenda.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on Friday condemning taxpayer-funded abortions in the COVID relief plan.

JOE BIDEN: HERE'S TO OUR ILLEGALS AND CRONEY DONORS

GOP: Senate-Passed Relief Bill Holds ‘Host of Non-COVID-Related Left-Wing Policies’

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 10: Senator Chuck Schumer speaks at the Back the Thrive Agenda press conference at the Longworth Office Building on September 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network)
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
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GOP senators, who voted against the Democrat-led Senate’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief measure on Saturday, sharply criticized the partisan measure upon its passing, emphasizing that it is filled with a “host of non-COVID-related left-wing policies.”

The Senate passed the measure 50-49 on Saturday along party lines. Republican Rep. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) was not present for the vote as he had to travel home for a family emergency.

While Senate Democrats celebrated the measure’s passage — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) described it as “the most significant piece of legislation to benefit working families in the modern history of this country” — Republicans warned that the bill contains a trove of left-wing pursuits unrelated to the Chinese coronavirus. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) highlighted similar concerns last week, noting that less than nine percent of the House bill went toward measures related to public health.

“I voted against this bill today because it could further wreck the economy and ignite inflation.  This legislation includes a host of non-COVID-related left-wing policies,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said in a statement, noting that “nine percent of the funding in the bill goes toward the immediate fight against COVID and one percent toward vaccines.”

The bill, he added, includes what he described as a “massive cash bailout for some mismanaged states and local governments.”

“Democrats are forcing a liberal wish list of pet projects through Congress that’s masked as a pandemic rescue package,” he added.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also highlighted the bill’s shortfalls and, like his Republican colleagues, explained that just nine percent of the measure goes toward measures related to the pandemic.

“Instead of working in a bipartisan manner to open our schools, bring back small businesses, and help struggling Americans get back on their feet, Democrats chose to pander to their radical liberal base with partisan handouts,” the Texas senator said in a statement.

“This bill is stuffed with pork, with only nine percent of the almost $2 trillion going toward actual and urgent COVID relief,” he continued, emphasizing that the Democrat measure “shockingly provides COVID relief checks to illegal aliens and criminals behind bars.”

“I proposed two amendments to close these loopholes. Democrats voted in lockstep to ensure illegal aliens and prison inmates would still qualify for these rebates,” he said.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) also noted that Democrats voted to hand stimulus checks to criminals in prison.

“They haven’t lost their jobs, they aren’t worried about paying rent or buying groceries. Another example of the unrelated spending in the Democrats’ partisan slush fund,” he remarked.

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said Democrats effectively “took advantage” of the pandemic and poisoned the relief bill with unrelated spending measures that they have been in pursuit of for years.

“Many of my Democratic colleagues refer to this as a recovery package, but unlike the previous five COVID relief bills, this bill risks actually preventing our economy from recovering, which it is already showing signs of doing,” she said in a statement.

“This partisan bill attempts to fix problems that don’t exist, hamstring growth that has already begun, rewards bad decisions by elected officials, and opens the floodgates for unchartered levels of federal spending,” Capito added.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) described the bill as a “behemoth” stuffed with programs that “have nothing to do with the targeted, temporary relief the people of Wyoming need to weather the rest of this pandemic” and blasted Democrats for taking a partisan approach in this relief measure.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) released a statement following the bill’s passage, providing a list of some of the unrelated items embraced by Democrats in the “spending spree” bill. The NRSC’s list included:

“It’s clear. The American people called for targeted relief, but Senate Democrats delivered their far left, radical wish list instead,” the NRSC said.

REPORT: 100K Migrants Apprehended at U.S.-Mexico Border in February

Border Patrol agents in South Texas apprehend a large group of migrants near Mission, Texas, in February. (Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Rio Grande Valley Sector)
Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Rio Grande Valley Sector
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Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 100,000 migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in February, according to information leaked to Reuters by federal officials. This represents the largest number of migrant apprehensions in February since 2006.

Reuters published previously unreported numbers showing that Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 100,000 migrants in February. If the numbers are accurate, they represent an increase of nearly 33 percent from January. Officials expect the official numbers to be released next week.

The rapidly increasing number of apprehensions follows the abandonment of Trump-era border security and immigration control policies by President Joe Biden during his first days in office.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sent a letter to President Biden on Friday requesting a meeting to discuss “great concerns” with the administration’s approach to the border, Reuters reported.

“We must acknowledge the border crisis, develop a plan, and, in no uncertain terms, strongly discourage individuals from Mexico and Central America from ever making the dangerous journey to our southern border,” McCarthy wrote.

The number of apprehensions of migrants continues to increase in March with officials acknowledging the arrest of more than 4,500 migrants on Wednesday, the article continues.

On Thursday, U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) reported the apprehension of approximately 10,000 migrants in the Rio Grande Valley Sector during a seven-day period — 2,500 in the previous two days.

“We are weeks, maybe even days, away from a crisis on the southern border. Inaction is simply not an option,” Congressman Cuellar said in a written statement. “Our country is currently unprepared to handle a surge in migrants in the middle of the pandemic.”

Of particular concern is the growing number of unaccompanied minors being apprehended at the border. The massively increasing number led to the Biden administration holding minors in Border Patrol facilities beyond the 72-hour legal limit.

Democrat leaders in South Texas are also critical of the president’s policies that are forcing the release of migrants infected with COVID-19. Officials in Brownsville, Texas, report more than six percent of migrants being released at a local bus station are testing positive for COVID-19.

Texas State Senator Jose “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) also complained about the migrants being released without being tested, Breitbart Texas reported in February. “[Border Patrol agents] were just dropping them off at the bus station without testing them. Obviously, that’s very alarming to all of us in that they’re coming from Central America and through Mexico and to be released into the United States without being tested for COVID is really unconscionable,” the Democrat state senator said.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s Sunday-morning talk show, What’s Your Point? Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.

U.S. Bishops Condemn Taxpayer Funding of Abortion in the American Rescue Plan

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 08: Archbishop José H. Gomez (C) departs the first-ever outdoor Ordination Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels amid the COVID-19 pandemic on August 8, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Archbishop Gomez ordained eight new priests, known as the ‘Pandemic Class of …
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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The leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have united in a joint condemnation of the taxpayer-funded abortion included in the Democrats’ American Rescue Plan.

In their statement, the president of the USCCB, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, together with the chairmen of seven USCCB committees, noted that the legislation abandons “a longstanding bipartisan compromise that respects the consciences of millions of Americans.”

“For 45 years, the United States Congress – whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans – has maintained that taxpayers should not be forced against their conscience to pay for abortions,” the bishops asserted.

“Abandoning this compromise in a time of national emergency only serves to divide people in the very moment we should be united,” they added. “Please, let us instead focus on delivering the COVID relief so desperately needed.”

In their statement, the bishops observed that rather than healing and uniting Americans, the legislation would drive a wedge between them.

“We urge President Biden and the leadership on Capitol Hill not to force upon Americans the wrenching moral decision whether to preserve the lives and health of the born or unborn, all of whom are our vulnerable neighbors in need,” they appealed.

“We ask that our leaders please not pit people against one another in such a way,” the bishops write, while asking all Members of Congress to “include the same protections against abortion funding that have been present in every COVID relief bill to date, and every annual spending bill for almost half a century.”

Joining Gomez in the statement were New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty; Kansas City Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, chairman of the Committee on Justice, Peace and Human Development; Rockford Bishop David J. Malloy, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace; Oakland Bishop Michael C. Barber, chairman for the Committee on Catholic Education;  Houma-Thibodaux Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism; and Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the Committee on Migration.

Sen. Rand Paul Blocks Democrats from Funding Planned Parenthood Through Paycheck Protection Program

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., responds to reporters at the Capitol after he threatened to reveal the name of the Ukraine whistleblower who helped initiate the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump by providing details of Trump's call with the Ukrainian president, in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott …
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) claimed a win Friday after forcing Democrats to remove from their COVID “liberal wish list” bill a provision that would have allowed every Planned Parenthood facility in the country to receive free taxpayer funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

“Democrats knew this was never about COVID relief or helping small businesses,” said Dr. Paul, an ophthalmologist. “It was a shameless attempt to fund their radical agenda on the taxpayers’ backs and I was successful in preventing that from happening by stopping these funds from going to abortion mills.”

In a press statement, Paul’s office explained in the House version of the “massive $1.9 trillion liberal wish list,” individual Planned Parenthood facilities would have been treated as separate entities and, as such, eligible for the federal PPP aid.

Paul’s office explained further:

The original congressional intent of PPP was to limit large and well-financed groups, such as Planned Parenthood from receiving a loan, and instead provide relief to small business affected by COVID-19. Democrats had planned to waive affiliation rules for nonprofits to provide paycheck protection loans to Planned Parenthood in the House version of the COVID-19 relief package. The Paul team strenuously argued to the Senate Parliamentarian that this waiver would only benefit Planned Parenthood and thus violated the so-called Byrd rule. Before the Parliamentarian was able to rule on the arguments presented, the Democrats filed an updated version of the bill that did not include the offending provision – a concession that avoided setting a precedent.

In May 2020, Planned Parenthood affiliates received $80 million in loans from the PPP in violation of the rules of the relief program. Subsequently, officials of the Small Business Administration and some members of Congress, including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), demanded the money be returned, threatening potential criminal prosecution.

Jacqueline Ayers, vice president of government relations & public policy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, denied the provision in the current bill was related to “Planned Parenthood 501(c)(3) organizations,” according to Fox News.

“The local Planned Parenthood affiliates that previously obtained loans made available by the CARES Act were eligible under the affiliation rules defined by the Small Business Administration,” Ayers insisted, referring to Planned Parenthood abortion clinics as providers of “essential healthcare.”

“Now is the time for everyone to come together to address this pandemic and pass much-needed COVID-19 relief, not for uninformed political attacks on access to essential health care,” she said.

Similarly, in an op-ed at the Washington Times, Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, emphasized only nine percent of the COVID bill’s funding is actually slated to address the public health issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly half of the funding in the measure will be held back from distribution until 2022, at the earliest, a time when the pandemic could largely have already subsided, he observed as well.

“A serious relief bill has devolved into a liberal wish list that, of course, funds the abortion industry,” McClusky asserted.

Democrats Vote Against Ted Cruz’s Amendment to Stop Stimulus Checks for Illegal Aliens

Ted Cruz
Ken Cedeno/Getty Images

Democrats voted against his amendment to the proposed coronavirus relief package that would have stopped American taxpayers’ money from going to illegal aliens in $1,400 stimulus checks, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Saturday.

Sen. Cruz announced the news in a Facebook post, referencing a tweet from the Senate Republican Cloakroom Staff:

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Friday, Cruz said, “Not only does this COVID bill fail to address the real needs of the American people who are suffering, but it hands out billions in taxpayer dollars to illegal immigrants.”

The senator’s office told the outlet blocking the checks would save citizens nearly $8 billion.

“Congress should come together to pass my amendment to stop this,” he continued, adding, “We need to stand for the American people, get our kids back to school, and reopen our small businesses.”

In its current form, the package could allow illegal aliens to secure subsidies for COBRA healthcare premiums.

“Last month, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Todd Young (R-IN) helped pass a budget amendment — with support from eight swing state Democrats — to make it more difficult for stimulus checks for illegal aliens to be included in the relief package,” the report said.

Cruz’s social media followers expressed their disappointment at his announcement on Saturday.

“All of our benefits should have the statement ‘for American citizens only’ included or added now!” one person said.

“I am so sick of this Free-for-all WITH OUR MONEY since the new POTUS,” another commented.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has reportedly signed off on a plan to tighten eligibility for stimulus payments, according to Breitbart News.

“The direct payments would remain at the $1,400 level, the phase-outs thresholds would remain the same, but caps would fall. As a result, more Americans would be cut off from payments,” the article concluded.