After the House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill without a single Republican vote, conservatives complained about the amount of unrelated ‘pork’ packed into the bill.
Republicans pointed out that the ‘pandemic’ bill allocates $140 million towards the production of an underground rail line from Pelosi’s district, San Fransisco, to Silicon Valley. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy proposed redirecting the $140 million towards mental health grants for students impacted by the pandemic, which was unsuccessful.
“Let’s provide those resources to the families so they can get the help for the anxiety, the depression, for children who are suicidal. That’s COVID. That’s dealing with relief. That’s what the American public wants to see,” McCarthy said.
House Representative Ashley Hinson said, “Americans are crying out tonight for targeted relief, and instead this bill sends money straight to Speaker Pelosi’s pet project in California.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the other hand called the bill a “spectacular piece of legislation.”
Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammil responded to the criticism, stating “We’re very sorry that Leader McCarthy doesn’t understand how transportation projects are funded or that this particular project is 50 miles away from the Speaker’s district, but this project was advanced by the Trump administration and is funded in this bill along with projects across the country, including in Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas,” without explaining how its addition to the COVID-19 relief bill will assist in the pandemic.