The following press release was issued by the office of August Pfluger:

Early Saturday morning, the House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 1319, the $1.9 trillion so-called “COVID-19 relief” spending bill. If passed by the Senate, this bill will bring the total spent under the guise of COVID-19 relief up to over $6 trillion. Sadly, only 9 percent of the funds appropriated in the Democrat-crafted bill go targeted towards COVID-19 relief. Congressman August Pfluger, joined by every Republican and two Democrats, voted no on the bill, which narrowly passed the House by a vote of 219-212.

“I am extremely disappointed to see my democrat colleagues exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to force through leftist policies in a massive spending bill that leaves American families holding the bag,” said Congressman August Pfluger. “This bill rewards states that remain locked down, encourages unemployment, keeps schools closed, and includes billions of dollars in spending towards Democrat pet-projects, including funding for Planned Parenthood, $112 million for an underground railway in Speaker Pelosi’s district, $270 million for the arts and humanities, and $12 billion in foreign aid. I fear my Democrat counterparts have become so desensitized to exorbitant spending that they have no problem leveraging our children’s futures if it means they can pay off their liberal interest groups.”

Over $1 trillion in previous COVID spending remains unspent. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan research arm of Congress, estimated that by the middle of 2021, the U.S. economy would return to pre-pandemic GDP levels without further stimulus spending. Prior to the vote, Congressman Pfluger spoke on the House Floor in opposition to H.R. 1319.