Commonwealth Policy Center

Democrats in Congress passed the HEROES Act, a $3.4 trillion bill that would send checks to millions of Americans, give a $1 trillion to struggling state and local governments, and provide billions for housing and food assistance. The U.S. Senate, which is led by Republicans introduced the HEALS Act, a $1.1 trillion package that would also send direct payments to taxpayers, but no bailouts for state and local governments. This is the fifth round of stimulus from Washington but such spending and debt accumulation are unsustainable. After all, somebody’s going to pay the bill at some point. A better path would be a strategic approach to safely get as many unemployed workers back to work. One-size fits all solutions from Congress will cost us in more ways than one in the long run.