Bentz votes no on COVID relief bill

By Terry Murry on Thursday, March 11th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Joe Biden is expected to sign the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill into law Friday. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday 220 to 211. No Republicans voted in favor of it, including Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario).

Bentz said he knows the people need the stimulus checks and other items that will help them get through the rough times caused by the novel coronavirus.

“There are a bunch of people still out of work, and a bunch of people that have been badly, badly hurt by the COVID crisis,” he said.

One of the reasons Bentz voted no to the bill is that it is driving the nation further into debt.

“It’s a difficult bill to object to when it looks like we’re handing out free money, but at some point, we’re going to get to pay it back,” he said. “People are going to pay this back through either higher inflation, higher interest rates, higher taxes, or higher risks.”

Another problem the Republican from Ontario had with the bill is the portion that is not COVID related.

“People really do need help, but that’s only about half the bill,” he said. “The other half includes things like bailouts for states that haven’t taken care of their finances and some pet programs for different people.”