Pelosi And Schumer’s Opening COVID Bid Is Actually Just An Unserious Liberal Wish List

FLASHBACK: The House Democrats’ Bill Is ‘A Democratic Wish List Filled Up With All The Party’s Favored Policies’

“SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI’S HOUSE is not officially coming back yet. They are waiting for the release of a new coronavirus bill, which will cost trillions of dollars. Neither this bill nor anything resembling it will ever become law -- it’s a Democratic wish list filled up with all the party’s favored policies.” (Politico’s Playbook, 5/11/2020)

• “The more than 1,800-page bill marks a long wish list for Democrats …” (“House Democrats Unveil $3 Trillion Proposal For Coronavirus Relief,” NPR, 5/12/2020)

“Privately, several House Democrats concede their latest bill feels like little more than an effort to appease the most liberal members of the caucus, many of whom were chafed that their most important priorities were minimized or ignored entirely in previous coronavirus negotiations.” (“McConnell Brushes Off Pelosi As She Finalizes Relief Package,” Politico, 5/11/2020)

House Democrats Passed ‘A Proposal With No Chance Of Becoming Law,’ ‘More A Messaging Document Than A Viable Piece Of Legislation’ Stuffed Full Of ‘Favored Liberal Provisions’ That ‘Have Little Chance Of Surviving’

“A divided House narrowly passed a $3 trillion pandemic relief package … advancing a proposal with no chance of becoming law over near-unanimous Republican opposition…. Even though the bill was more a messaging document than a viable piece of legislation, its fate was in doubt in the final hours before its passage.” (“House Passes $3 Trillion Aid Bill Over Republican Opposition,” The New York Times, 5/15/2020)

• “Unlike the first four coronavirus bills, which were passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, this 1,815-page package was drafted by Democrats alone and earned a veto threat from the White House and condemnation from the GOP as a ‘liberal wish list’ that's dead on arrival in the Senate.” (“House Passes $3T Coronavirus Relief -- The Most Expensive Bill In History,” Fox News, 5/16/2020)

“… House Democratic leadership was engaged in what a few senior aides and lawmakers described as the most difficult arm-twisting of the entire congress: convincing their rank and file to vote for a $3 trillion stimulus bill that will never become law…. The bill was released earlier [the same] week. It’s not been through a single congressional committee. And it’s caught flak from both moderates and liberals in the caucus. It’s a messaging bill.” (Politico Playbook, 5/15/2020)

“It also includes a host of favored liberal provisions which have come under attack by Republicans and have little chance of surviving the coming negotiations.” (“House Passes Massive $3T Coronavirus Relief Package,” The Hill, 5/15/2020)

House Democrats’ Wish List: Restoring A Tax Deduction Benefiting Wealthy Taxpayers, Rebates For Illegal Immigrants, Eliminating State Voter ID Requirements, Legalizing Ballot Harvesting, Providing ‘Low-Cost Loans To Debt Collectors,’ And Requiring Diversity Reports For Cannabis-Related Businesses

Speaker Pelosi’s partisan bill would …

Roll back the cap on state and local tax deductions for two years …

PAGE 228: “SEC. 20161. ELIMINATION FOR 2020 AND 2021 OF LIMITATION ON DEDUCTION OF STATE AND LOCAL TAXES.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

• “House Democrats released the text Tuesday for its latest proposed Covid-19 relief measures. … Tucked away in the bill is a measure that will reinstate the so-called SALT itemized deduction for 2020 and 2021. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which went into effect in 2018, limited the amount of state and local tax deductions filers could claim on their tax returns to $10,000. … The new proposal doesn’t specify what’s supposed to happen after 2021.” (“House Democrats’ Stimulus Bill Rolls Back $10,000 SALT Cap For 2 Years,” CNBC, 5/12/2020)

Retroactively grant CARES Act recovery checks to illegal immigrants and allow illegal immigrants to receive the new rebates proposed in this bill …

PAGES 156-157: “SEC. 20102. INDIVIDUALS PROVIDING TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN DETERMINING CREDIT AND REBATES. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6428(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 20101 of this Act, is amended to read as follows: ‘(g) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.— ‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The $1,200 amount in subsection (a)(1) shall be treated as being zero unless the taxpayer includes the TIN of the taxpayer on the return of tax for the taxable year…. (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this section shall take effect as if included in section 2201 of the CARES Act.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

PAGES 165-167: “SEC. 20111. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY REBATES TO INDIVIDUALS. (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 65 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 6428 the following new section: ‘SEC. 6428A. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY REBATES TO INDIVIDUALS. ‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by subtitle A for the first taxable year beginning in 2020 an amount equal to the additional rebate amount determined for such taxable year…. (4) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.— ‘(A) IN  GENERAL.—The $1,200 amount in subsection (b)(1) shall be  treated as being zero unless the taxpayer includes the TIN of the taxpayer on the return of tax for the taxable year.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

• “By law, individuals must provide a unique identifying number when they file tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This means noncitizens must have a taxpayer identification number in order to file tax returns, pay taxes, and otherwise comply with federal tax law. The general rule is that an individual's taxpayer identification number is his or her Social Security number (SSN)…. Individuals who are not eligible to receive an SSN are required to use an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) when filing their tax returns and other documents with the IRS…. The fact someone has an ITIN does not mean he or she is unlawfully present in the United States.... ITINs are provided to those individuals who need a taxpayer identification number and are not eligible for an SSN…. Nonetheless, IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reportedly believe that a large proportion of ITIN filers are unlawfully present aliens working in the United States.” (“Federal Income Taxes and Noncitizens: Frequently Asked Questions,” Congressional Research Service, R43840, 12/31/2014)

• “Democratic Reps. Lou Correa of California, Judy Chu of California and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona on April 3 introduced the bill, the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act, ‘to allow 2020 recovery rebates to be made on the basis of an individual’s taxpayer identification number.’ … The bill would amend the qualifications necessary to receive federal support provided by the CARES Act, the emergency coronavirus relief bill passed in March. The CARES Act requires recipients of benefits to provide a valid Social Security number, which undocumented immigrants don’t have and can't legally get…. The Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act would amend the CARES Act by adding an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number as an acceptable credential to receive government benefits. An ITIN is a number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to make sure people who are not permitted to receive a Social Security number pay taxes ‘regardless of their immigration status,’ according to the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit immigration research and advocacy organization…. [E]xpanding eligibility for federal relief to include individuals with ITINs would help expand aid to only some undocumented immigrants because not all undocumented immigrants have ITINs…. The Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act would expand access to the CARES Act federal relief to individuals who have an ITIN, benefiting the many undocumented immigrants in that situation …” (“Fact Check: House Bill Expands Stimulus Checks To Some, Not All, Undocumented Immigrants,” USA Today, 4/23/2020)

Permanently undermine state voter ID requirements …

PAGE 1482: “(2) ADMINISTRATION OF VOTING BY MAIL.—‘‘(A) PROHIBITING IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING BALLOT.—A State may not require an individual to provide any form of identification as a condition of obtaining an absentee ballot, except that nothing in this paragraph may be construed to prevent a State from requiring a signature of the individual or similar affirmation as a condition of obtaining an absentee ballot.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

PAGES 1499-1500: “SEC. 325. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) USE OF STATEMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (c), if a State has in effect a requirement that an individual present identification as a condition of casting a ballot in an election for Federal office, the State shall permit the individual to meet the requirement— (A) in the case of an individual who desires to vote in person, by presenting the appropriate State or local election official with a sworn written statement, signed by the individual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the individual’s identity and attesting that the individual is eligible to vote in the election; or (B) in the case of an individual who desires to vote by mail, by submitting with the  ballot the statement described in subparagraph (A).” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

Legalize ballot harvesting nationwide …

PAGES 1492-1493: “(2) PERMITTING VOTERS TO DESIGNATE OTHER PERSON TO RETURN BALLOT.—The State— (A) shall permit a voter to designate any person to return a voted and sealed absentee ballot to the post office, a ballot drop-off location, tribally designated building, or election office so long as the person designated to return the ballot does not receive any form of compensation based on the number of ballots that the person has returned and no individual, group, or organization provides compensation on this basis; and (B) may not put any limit on how many voted and sealed absentee ballots any designated person can return to the post office, a ballot drop off location, tribally designated building, or election office.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

Require a review of the immigration files of all individuals in ICE custody to assess the need for continued detention …

PAGE 1786: “SEC. 191205. ICE DETENTION. … [T]he Secretary of Homeland Security shall review the immigration files of all individuals in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assess the need for continued detention.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

Require banking regulators and the GAO to issue diversity reports for cannabis-related businesses …

PAGE 1100: “(h) ANNUAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION REPORT.— The Federal banking regulators shall issue an annual report to Congress containing— (1) information and data on the availability of access to financial services for minority-owned and women-owned cannabis-related legitimate businesses…”  (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

PAGE 1100: “(i) GAO STUDY ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.—(1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on the barriers to marketplace entry, including in the licensing process, and the access to financial services for potential and existing minority-owned and women-owned cannabis-related legitimate businesses.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

Allow cannabis businesses to work with federally backed banks and insurers …

PAGES 1088-1089: “SEC. 110606. SAFE BANKING. … The purpose of this section is to increase public safety by ensuring access to financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers…” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

Create a new ‘soil health’ pilot program at USDA which would pay farmers to NOT farm and to plant grass on 5 million acres of productive farmland …

PAGES 745-747: “SEC. 60501. EMERGENCY SOIL HEALTH AND INCOME PROTECTION PILOT PROGRAM. … The Secretary [of Agriculture] shall establish a voluntary emergency soil health and income protection pilot program under which eligible land is enrolled through the use of contracts to assist owners and operators of eligible land to conserve and improve the soil, water, and wildlife resources of the eligible land.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

• “(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE LAND.—In this section, the term “eligible land” means cropland that—(1) is selected by the owner or operator of the land for proposed enrollment in the pilot program under this section; and (2) as determined by the Secretary, had a cropping history or was considered to be planted during each of the 3 crop years preceding enrollment…. (1) REQUIREMENTS.—A contract described in subsection (b) shall— (A) be entered into by the  Secretary, the owner of the eligible land, and (if applicable) the operator of the eligible land; and (B)  provide that, during the term of the contract— (i) the lowest practicable cost perennial conserving use cover crop for the eligible land, as determined by the applicable State conservationist after considering the advice of the applicable State technical committee, shall be planted on the eligible land … PAYMENTS.— (A)  RENTAL  RATE.—Except as provided in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), the annual rental rate for a payment under a contract described in subsection (b) shall be $70 per acre…. (d) ACREAGE LIMITATION.—Not more than 5,000,000 total acres of eligible land may be enrolled under the pilot program under this section.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

Establish a ‘facility’ within the Federal Reserve to make ‘long-term, low-cost loans to debt collectors’ to ‘temporarily compensate’ them until consumers’ payments resume …

PAGES 1064-1065: “(4) CREDIT FACILITY.—The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall— (A) establish a facility, using amounts made available under section 4003(b)(4) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9042(b)(4)), to make long-term, low-cost loans to debt collectors to temporarily compensate such debt collectors for documented financial losses caused by forbearance of debt payments under this subsection; and (B) defer debt collectors’ required payments on such loans until after consumers’ debt payments resume.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

And give special treatment to the New York State Medicaid program.

PAGES 1851-1852: “SEC. 200015. MODIFICATION TO MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIREMENT FOR TEMPORARY INCREASE IN MEDICAID FMAP. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6008(b)(1) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d note) is amended by inserting ‘, or as signed into State law on April 15, 2020, and taking effect in State law on April 3, 2020’ after ‘January 1, 2020’.  (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” (H.R. 6800, 116^th Congress)

• “On March 24, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance related to the temporary increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate (FMAP) included in the Families First COVID-19 response legislation (P.L. 116-127)…. Families First would increase the FMAP by 6.2 percentage points for all states and territories starting January 1, 2020 through the end of the public health emergency.  As a condition of the FMAP increase, during the emergency, states may not cut Medicaid eligibility or impose more restrictive eligibility procedures, charge higher premiums, disenroll currently enrolled or newly enrolled beneficiaries or fail to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment without cost-sharing.” (Edwin Park, “CMS Guidance Clarifies that Families First COVID-19 Response Bill’s FMAP Increase Will Benefit CHIP Too,” Georgetown University Center for Children & Families, 3/25/2020)

• Eliot Fishman, Left-Wing Families USA Senior Director of Health Policy: “Another important coverage element that is just egregious: the second COVID package, passed in March, included a requirement that states not cut Medicaid or disenroll anyone during the pandemic. New York wanted to make Medicaid cuts anyway. So there is language in the bill intended to allow New York to make cuts to home and community-based services …” (Eliot Fishman, @FishmanEliot, Twitter, 5/12/2020)