Wednesday 10 March 2021

GOP Sen. Roger Wicker praised funding for restaurants included in the COVID-19 stimulus bill that he voted against

Sen. Roger Wicker helped pass an amendment in the American Rescue Plan and then voted against the bill.
The RESTAURANTS Act secured $28.6 billion of targeted funding for ailing restaurants and workers.
Wicker praised the passage of the bill but zero Republicans voted in favor of the $1.9 trillion package.
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After voting against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, GOP Sen. Roger Wicker was singing its praises.

"Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief," he tweeted after the bill passed in the House on Wednesday, after previously passing the Senate.

"This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll," Wicker added.

-Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) March 10, 2021

In February, Wicker was part of a bipartisan group of senators who introduced the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act, the first amendment added to the American Rescue Plan. It provided for the $28.6 billion in funds for independent restaurants included in the final bill.

However, after being part of the group that introduced and added the amendment to the bill, Wicker voted against Biden's American Rescue Plan, which contained the amendment, arguing that it was superfluous and partisan.

In a February press release, Wicker suggested that Americans didn't need more relief, and wrote that, "After a year of economic uncertainty, America received some encouraging news from the Congressional Budget Office this month. This non-partisan agency projected that our economy will return to its pre-pandemic size by the middle of this year," adding that the $4 trillion included in past stimulus bills was sufficient.

After the bill was passed in the House on Wednesday, CNN's Manu Raju pressed Wicker on his tweet in support of the funding and vote against it.

"One good provision in a $1.9 trillion bill doesn't mean I have to vote for the whole thing… It goes without saying. I issued a statement. But I think it's a stupid question," Wicker said. "I mean, I'm not gonna vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions."

Wicker said that because of his involvement with the RESTAURANTS Act, he believed he had, "an absolutely consistent position."

On Wednesday, the stimulus package passed in the House with zero Republican votes, and President Joe Biden will sign the bill on Friday.

Read the original article on Business Insider