BAINBRIDGE – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) issued the following statement regarding the COVID-19 relief and government funding bills recently passed by Congress:

“I want to address the misinformation going around about the legislation Congress passed on Monday night.Let’s be very clear: Congress passed two independent pieces of legislation, one that provided COVID-19 relief and another that funded the government throughout next year. The Majority had us vote on these two bills at once, which is what confused a lot of people.

“Rumors that there was foreign aid in the COVID-19 relief bill are false. The only bill that included foreign aid was the annual spending bill, which was requested by the President in his budget ten months ago.

“The U.S. Constitution lays out the annual process by which we fund our government, a responsibility I take very seriously as a member of the House Appropriations Committee. That’s why, since the President released his budget in February, I have worked with my colleagues to hold more than 36 budget and oversight hearings to move that process forward.

“Unfortunately, election year political games derailed this process significantly, causing a last-minute scramble to ensure the government remained up and running in the middle of a pandemic. That is unacceptable and the American people have every right to be frustrated by it. I know I am.

“The political games that delayed that government funding bill were the same games that prevented us from providing COVID-19 relief to the American people months ago. It’s especially infuriating that it took eight months to pass this additional relief when it was largely similar to the bipartisan plan my colleagues and I on the Problem Solvers Caucus unveiled back in September.

“Despite this unconscionable delay, the bill we passed on Monday provides $900 billion to support our small businesses, working families and healthcare professionals. Any accusation that this relief bill only included “$600 for Americans” is a lie.

“The American people have made it clear they have no patience for Washington’s dysfunction that prevented us from delivering critical relief in the first place. Those who are purposely creating confusion or spreading falsehoods about these two different bills are playing the kind of games that have no place in our nation’s capital as we work to get through these unprecedented times.

“I remain committed to fighting for the needs of Ohio’s 14^th District and will continue to do everything in my power to ensure Ohioans have what they need until we restore our way of life.”

To learn more about the COVID-19 relief legislation, click here.

To learn more about the FY2021 government funding legislation, click here.

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