West Central Reporter

Reps. Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) and Rodney Davis (R-Illinois) said they voted against the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus plan because it is a partisan bill that provided funding for areas not related to relief.

The U.S. House recently passed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, 219-212.

The vote was almost entirely partisan. Two Democrats crossed party lines to side with Republicans who unanimously rejected the relief, WLDS-WEAI News reported.

LaHood said that he believed the bill was designed intentionally to pass the Senate on just a majority vote, with no input from Republicans.

"President Biden and Democrats in Congress specifically designed the 'American Rescue Plan' package to circumvent any Republican input or changes," LaHood said in a statement. "It's deeply disappointing that President Biden abandoned his commitment to finding common ground with Republicans in his first major legislative initiative."

Biden did meet with Republican senators about COVID-19 relief in February. Republicans offered a $618 billion plan that would not provide funding for state and local governments and offered $30 billion less than the Democrats' plan for providing vaccinations. The package supported direct payments of $1,000 but for a much small group of people.

Davis agreed with LaHood, and expressed concern about the partisanship nature of the decision.

He said that relief funds included in the bill don't target COVID-19 assistance and will not be spent immediately.

"This bill should've been negotiated in a bipartisan manner, but hundreds of Republican amendments were shut down at every turn," Davis said in a statement. "Federal aid needs to be targeted to those in need and spent immediately. That's not what this bill does. Vast sums aren't pandemic-related and won't be spent for years. I support strengthening our vaccine program, helping our kids get back in school and providing relief to those families and businesses who need it most."

The stimulus plan will provide $1,400 in direct payments to individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and to couples earning up to $150,000; extend a weekly federal unemployment benefit currently set to expire in mid-March until the end of August and increase weekly payments from $300 to $400 and increase the child tax credit.

It would also allocate more than $50 billion for vaccine distribution, testing and tracing, plus approximately $200 billion to primary and secondary schools and $350 billion to state, local and tribal governments.