Sen. Cruz Accuses Pelosi of 'Shoveling Cash to Her Friends'
Republican senator blasts Democrat House speaker over COVID-19 funds
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), accusing the Democrat leader of using the coronavirus relief bills for “shoveling money to her friends.”
Speaking to CBS's "Face the Nation," the Republican Texas senator slammed Pelosi and House Democrats for pushing a coronavirus relief package that focuses on "shoveling cash at the problem and shutting America down" as negotiations on the next measure continue.
Cruz said Speaker Pelosi is using the crisis as an opportunity to line the pockets of "her friends" with funds from the $3 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill, the Heroes Act.
The bill includes “a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires in blue states," Sen. Cruz revealed.
Senator Cruz said America is currently battling two crises simultaneously: a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 600,000 people worldwide and an "absolute economic catastrophe" in the U.S.
Pelosi, however, is "focused on neither of those," Cruz says.
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Cruz also said he’s still not on board with a bill that Republicans plan to introduce on Monday to provide another round of coronavirus relief.
"I am not [on board]," Cruz said of the plan.
"We have right now two simultaneous national crises.
"We have a global pandemic. It is serious.
"It has taken the lives of over 600,000 people.
"We need to do significantly more to fight the disease.
"At the same time, we have an absolute economic catastrophe,” the senator said.
"We have over 44 million Americans have lost their job, and we have got to get America back to work.
“Unfortunately, I just listened to your interview with Speaker Pelosi.
"Her objectives are focused on neither of those,” he said.
"Her objectives are shoveling cash at the problem and shutting America down, and, in particular, you look at the $3 trillion bill she is trying to push.
"It's just shoveling money to her friends and not actually solving the problem.
"Our objective should be Americans want to get back to work.
"They want to be able to provide for their family."
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When asked whether he objects to a federal boost to unemployment, Cruz said that it provides a disincentive for people to return to work, because “for 68 percent of people receiving it right now, they are being paid more on unemployment than they made in their job.”
"And I'll tell you, I've spoken to small business owners all over the state of Texas who are trying to reopen and they're calling their waiters and waitresses.
"They're calling their busboys, and they won't come back, and of course, they won't come back because the federal government is paying them, in some instances, twice as much money to stay home,” he said.
"Instead of just shoveling trillions out the door,” Congress should pass a recovery bill, the senator said.
"Now, what's a recovery bill? A recovery bill would be lifting the taxes and the regulations that are hammering small businesses so that people can go back to work.
"A recovery bill would suspend the payroll tax, which would give a pay raise to everyone in America who is working,” Cruz said.
"That actually gets people back to work.
“Well, as the Treasury secretary said this morning that you could have five, six, seven other bills coming along that include things like a payroll tax but this time, unemployment, in particular, is something that he said needs to be extended” host Margaret Brennan said.
"And according to our latest CBS poll, it's very popular," she continued.
"Seventy-four percent of Republicans approve more stimulus and added benefits.
"Ninety-two percent of Democrats.
"Eighty-two percent of independents.
"So Republicans do have the burden of governing right now.
"Why aren't you on board with this?” Brennan asked.
Cruz replied that he’s “'on board' with restarting the economy.”
"What Democrats want to do-- we're 100 days out from the presidential election," he explained.
"The only objective Democrats have is to defeat Donald Trump, and they've cynically decided the best way to defeat Donald Trump is shut down every business in America, shut down every school in America,” he said.
"You know Nancy Pelosi talks about working men and women.
"What she's proposing is keeping working men and women from working.
"And, you know, ironically, what she does have in her bill?
"She has a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires in blue states,” the senator added.
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