A few weeks ago, Jon Stewart, the former Daily Show host, made news headlines with an emotional and damning testimony before Congress, blasting them for not passing more quickly and urgently a bill that would provide for September 11th attack victims and their families.
It was hard to watch, almost, and it seemed that no politician would be willing to still hold up the legislation.
Apparently, two Senators are serving as a monkey wrench in this machinery.
Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat from New York, requested unanimous consent to the agreement.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and Rand Paul of Kentucky decided otherwise, however. They had other ideas. Paul seemed to get up in arms about the principle of the freedom to dissent. Here are some of his comments:
“I reserve the right to object,” said Paul, providing his bean-counting rationale. “It has long been my feeling that we need to address our massive debt in this country — we have a $22 trillion debt, [and] we’re adding debt at about a trillion dollars a year — and therefore any new spending that we are approaching, any new program that’s going to have longevity of 70, 80 years, should be offset by cutting spending that’s less valuable.”
None of what he says is necessarily wrong, factually. But the government wastes a lot of money in many areas. We have corporate welfare that provides billions to elite, private interests. We have a very bloated military industrial complex that receives more money than the next 10 leading military spending nations in the world combined. Compared to those, compensation for 9/11 victims is a pittance. And he decides to try and make a larger point now, holding the much needed, urgent funds for victims, so that he can try and make some vague point about his freedom to dissent, as well as lecturing about financial responsibility?
Where was this sense of responsibility when he supported Trump's elitist tax cut that gave so much tax breaks and incentives to the very wealthiest Americans, all of which added $1 trillion to that national debt that he now, suddenly, is so concerned about?
Here's the thing: September 11th was a national emergency, obviously. This seems to me a point so obvious, that it is almost embarrassing even mentioning it, for how obvious it is. The first responders stepped up. They did not hesitate to help people who were obviously in need, and they put themselves and their own health in jeopardy in the process. Wealthy, elitist politicians treated them like heroes at the time, paying lip service and often making sure that the very best photo ops were secured.
But those wealthy, elitist politicians sure liked to support candidates who would provide for their interests, who would give them the tax breaks and incentives that they desperately wanted. Paul and Lee both allowed the Trump tax cuts and incentives for the wealthiest Americans to go through. Surely, they both benefited from this personally, to boot. They did not delay it on principle then.
So why now?
Typical politicians. They make witty little arguments. Convenient arguments, when it suits them. And the country as a whole is worse off for it.
Here is the link to this article about Senators Lee and Paul standing in the way of progress, playing the game of "politics as usual," once again:
Sens. Mike Lee, Rand Paul are holding up 9/11 victims fund By Marisa Schultz, Nikki Schwab and Aaron Feis July 17, 2019:
https://nypost.com/2019/07/17/activists-blame-senator-mike-lee-for-holding-up-the-9-11-victims-fund/?fbclid=IwAR0Rup6PR-IaOPw3OZUoCYG0Pyjnn_9VQvjFPz9bk_CzG361q9InglEhh3M
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