The media doesn’t want Americans to know about the partisan pork inside President Biden’s “coronavirus relief” package passed solely by House Democrats last Friday.
On their morning newscasts Monday, the big three networks took different approaches to reporting on the package, but they each worked to help the Democrat administration. ABC deliberately misled viewers by highlighting the COVID-related aspects to slam Republicans for opposing; while CBS allowed criticism from a Republican guest but pressed him from the left; and NBC ignored the topic entirely.
GMA co-anchor George Stephanopoulos warned President Biden’s COVID relief package was “facing some hurdles” in the Senate before handing off to Chief White House Correspondent, Cecilia Vega.
Right off the bat, Vega laid the blame on Republicans for being too partisan. “The White House had hoped to do this with some bipartisan support but that House vote did not get a single Republican to support it,” she complained. Once more she misled viewers by touting the COVID aspects of the bill and not the completely unrelated spending Democrats put in. As ABC put up a graphic, Vega touted:
I want to start by showing you what's in the bill, some of these big ticket items right off the top here. Take a look. Those $1400 stimulus checks, of course, for most Americans, $16 billion for vaccine distribution, $50 billion for testing and tracing. $170 billion for school. That's going to help re-opening costs and things like aid to some students.
Afterwards, Vega did mention the minimum wage hike as the primary problem for Republicans and "moderate Democrats" opposing the bill. She did not mention this part of the bill is estimated to cost 3.7 million jobs.
Over on CBS, co-anchors Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil also helped Democrats by teaming up to guilt trip Senator Rick Scott for opposing the bill, accusing him of refusing to help unemployed Americans.
Meanwhile on FNC, some Republicans came on to talk about why they opposed the bill. On Fox & Friends First Monday, New York Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis claimed that less than one percent of the bill goes to vaccine manufacturing and distribution:
I will tell you as a freshman, how shocked and disappointed I am where Nancy Pelosi limited debate. Where our Congress only had 30 minutes to expose what was in 600 page, $1.9 trillion budget. This is not representative democracy. You know, the idea that I can't speak out against a $3.5 billion going to a global fund in which American taxpayers pay 88% of the international group's expenditures, money for Planned Parenthood, money for Nancy's rail line, and all the other pork that's in here. Less than 1% goes to vaccine manufacturing, distribution which is our top priority right now. The bill needs to be revised and I hope that they do that and we can actually provide something positive for New Yorkers and Americans that need unemployment, that need stimulus, and that actually helps out small businesses, but it needs to be tailored.
Similarly, on Fox & Friends Sunday, Florida congressman Mike Waltz claimed only nine percent of the bill was actually for COVID relief, while 91 percent was for “the progressive agenda" and it really was a "blue state bailout." He explained (click "expand"):
REP. MIKE WALTZ: The 91% are things like 350 billion for blue states. I mean it’s just a blue state bailout, Will. It’s going to states that have had lockdowns. They don't have the state revenue anymore. Most states have to balance their budget, the federal government doesn't. Then that, so those monies are now going to reward that behavior.
We have 86 billion for union pension bailout from mismanagement there. 34 billion to expand ObamaCare. 130 billion for schools, which sounds great, we all want our schools open, but there is no way the money get down to the states, get down to the school districts, get into the schools and be spent in any reasonable amount of time. Keep in mind we still have a trillion dollars unspent from December when we passed the last, when we passed the last one.
FNC HOST WILL CAIN: We talked about that on the show the last couple of days, the amount of pork in the bill, it is amazing. Here is more of it. I put it on the screen. We talked about the money unspent reopening schools, whatever there may be a ton of money goes to Amtrak. Again, Amtrak has not even spent the money already granted to it. There’s $350 billion in state and local bailouts. 140 million for a tunnel in Nancy Pelosi's district, Harvard with its massive endowment gets another several tens of millions of dollars. It doesn't make much sense.
On Friday, even some House Democrats balked at the “embarrassing” and unnecessary pork in the bill, like the aforementioned additional 40 million added last minute to the 100 million railway project that would benefit Nancy Pelosi’s district.
According to the Congressional Budget Office cited by the NY Post, 95% of the education funds in this new bill are unnecessary: "[T]he Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 95 percent of the bill’s $129 billion for K-12 schools won’t be spent in 2021, in part because funds approved for schools last year haven’t been spent," they wrote.
But you won't see any of these numbers cited on the networks.
ABC's sponsors are Panera and Intuit, contact them at the Conservatives Fight Back Page to let them know what you think about their slanted coverage of this bill.
Read the transcript below:
ABC’s Good Morning America
3/1/2021
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We go to Washington now and the latest on President Biden's COVID relief package passed by the House over the weekend but it’s facing some hurdles in the Senate. Our chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega has the details.
CECILIA VEGA: Good morning. The White House had hoped to do this with some bipartisan support but that House vote did not get a single Republican to support it. I want to start by showing you what's in the bill, some of these big ticket items right off the top here. Take a look. Those $1400 stimulus checks, of course, for most Americans, $16 billion for vaccine distribution, $50 billion for testing and tracing. $170 billion for school. That's going to help re-opening costs and things like aid to some students. George you mentioned hurdles, really the big one right now, the $15 minimum wage. Our sources telling us this morning that's off the table for Democrats as it will head over into the Senate. Progressives in the party are not happy at all about this. Moderate Democrats have also expressed some concern about the large ticket -- the large price tag of this overall bill. So it is likely to see some changes to come as it works its way through the Senate in order to get those 50 votes that it needs to pass this with Democrats. They are expected to take this up in the Senate this week, George. They want it on the president's desk in a matter of weeks.
